The protreptic-paraenetic purpose of Augustine&#39;s Confessions and its Manichean audience

Annemare Kotze

The Confessions of St. Augustine still raises doubts about its genre classification. Some scholars, ignoring the last three books, consider the whole text as an autobiography with an additional philosophical appendix. Others, on the contrary, take this work for a philosophical treatise with an unexpectedly expanded autobiographical introduction. And, there are also scholars who think that the Confessions represent an autonomous genre called “confessions” or “confessional literature”. This article has not any ambition to solve this long-standing issue, its aim is only to show that there is not necessary to challenge the genre classification of the Confessions as an autobiography because of its use of facts from author’s life in a specific way and because of many philosophical reflections included in it. Augustine uses autobiographical passages and philosophical reflections in the Confessions to construct his inner Self, and by trying to understand himself he also tries to understand God. The reconstruction of Augustine’s own personality thus represents a new way of understanding God and the redemptive effect of divine grace in human life. Autobiography and theology in the Confessions therefore go hand by hand and to separate one from the other comes at the cost of misinterpretation of this work as a whole.

This Cambridge Companion serves as an authoritative guide to Augustine’s Confessions—a literary classic and one of the most important theological/philosophical works of Late Antiquity. Bringing together new essays by leading scholars, the volume first examines the composition of the text, including its structure, genre, and intended audience. Subsequent essays explore a range of themes and concepts, such as God, creation, sin, grace, happiness, and interiority, among others. The final section of the Companion deals with its historical relevance. It provides sample essays on the reception history of the Confessions. These essays demonstrate how each generation reads the Confessions in light of current questions and circumstances, and how the text continues to remain relevant and raise new questions.

Augustine's Confessions is a passionate and intensely intimate baring of his soul as he shares his struggles with sin and exults in his grace-filled relationship with God. It is not a carefully crafted narrative presenting Augustine in the best light but rather in the rawness of his struggles, and the reader feels as though she is intruding into his private conversation with God. He opens a window into the worldview of that time when secular ambition to be a great orator and teacher was greatly prized and the religious arena was one of debate about concepts which competed with, and incorporated, the ideas of the Greek philosophers. Life for the individual held the same delights and temptations that we encounter today, although in different guises. As he shares his road to Christianity with us, Augustine discusses various issues which become themes of his work. This essay explores his complex thinking on women and sexuality, which create inner conflict and tension between his desire for the physical while wanting to attain to the spiritual, as they control him and obstruct his path to spiritual union with God.

THE PROTREPTIC-PARAENETIC PURPOSE OF AUGUSTINE'S CONFESSIONS AND ITS MANICHEAN AUDIENCE Annemaré Kotzé Dissertation presented for the Degree of Doctor of Literature at the University of Stellenbosch Promotor: Prof J C Thorn April 2003 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Declaration: I, the undersigned, hereby declare that the work contained in this dissertation is my own original work and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it at any :~~: Dale: ii Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za SUMMARY In this dissertation I attempt to open up new perspectives on the literary qualities and the unity of Augustine's Confessions by reading the work in the light of the context within which it first functioned. Part 1, Prolegomena, consists of a survey of secondary literature (in chapter 1) that focuses on research on the literary characteristics of the work, followed by a theoretical exploration of the two aspects that constitute the focus of this study, the genre and the audience of the Confessions. Chapter 2.1 examines how the literary practices and generic conventions of late Antiquity should inform our reading of the work. This is achieved through a discussion of the implications of genre analysis in general (2.1.1), followed by an examination of the conventions of the ancient protreptic genre (2.1.2), a look at the parallels between the Confessions and three of its literary antecedents and between the Confessions and Augustine's Contra Academicos (2.1.3), and an evaluation of the perspectives offered on the unity of the work by this procedure (2.1.4). Chapter 2.2 starts with a discussion of the concept of intended audience (2.2.1) and proceeds to provide the background needed to follow the arguments on the specific segment of Augustine's audience that I consider here, the Manicheans (2.2.2). Part 2 of the dissertation consists of the analyses of selected passages but attempts at the same time to give an accurate account of how genre and intended audience are embodied in the text as a whole. In chapter 3 I show that Augustine's meditation on Ps 4 in the central section of the Confessions (9.4.8-11) is a protreptic that targets a Manichean audience (3.1) through Augustine's identification with this audience (3.2) and the prevalent use of Manichean terminology and categories (3.3). In chapter 4 I analyse in a more systematic way the expression of protreptic purpose through various devices throughout the Confessions: foreshadowing in the opening paragraph (4.1), the use of a shifting persona (4.2), allusion to Matt 7:7 (4.3), and the theme of the protreptic power of reading and listening (4.5). I evaluate how pervasive the expression of protreptic intent is (4.4) and end with an examination of the protreptic-paraenetic purpose of the first section of the allegorical exposition of the creation story in book 13 (4.6). Chapter 5 examines the degree to which the Manicheans are targeted by the text as a whole as an important segment of its intended audience. I examine the use of the theme of friendship to evoke Augustine's erstwhile Manichean friendships and the history of failed communication with this group (5.1), the role Augustine intends curiositas to play in coaxing the Manicheans into reading yet another attempt to convert them (5.2), and once again how pervasive the concerns with a Manichean audience is (5.3). I conclude this chapter, like the previous one, with an analysis of the last section of the allegory in book 13, iii Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za where I discern towards the end an intensification of indications that Augustine is preoccupied with his Manichean audience (5.4). OPSOMMING Hierdie proefskrif probeer om nuwe perspektief te bied op die literêre eienskappe en die eenheid van Augustinus se Confessiones deur die werk te lees in die lig van die konteks waarbinne dit aanvanklik gefunksioneer het. Deel 1, Prolegomena, is In oorsig oor die sekondêre literatuur (in hoofstuk 1) wat fokus op studies van die literêre tegnieke in die werk, gevolg deur In teoretiese verkenning van die twee aspekte wat die fokuspunt van die studie vorm, naamlik die genre en die gehoor van die Confessiones. literêre praktyke en genre-verwante Hoofstuk 2 ondersoek hoe konvensies van die laat Antieke die lees van die werk behoort te beïnvloed. Dit word gedoen aan die hand van In bespreking van die implikasies van genre-analise in die algemeen (2.1.1), gevolg deur In oorsig oor die konvensies van die antieke protreptiese genre (2.1.2), In bespreking van die paraIIele tussen die Confessiones en drie literêre voorlopers daarvan asook tussen die Confessiones en Augustinus se Contra Academicos (2.1.3) en In evaluering van die perspektiewe wat hierdie werkwyse bied op die eenheid van die werk (2.1.4). Hoofstuk 2.2 behels In bespreking teikengehoor (2.2.1), gevolg deur In opsomming van die agtergrondinligting van die konsep wat nodig is om die argumente oor die spesifieke segment van Augustinus se gehoor wat hier oorweeg word (die Manicheërs), geselekteerde te volg (2.2.2). Deel 2 van die proefskrif bestaan uit die analises van passasies maar probeer terselfdertyd om In getroue weergawe te bied van hoe genre en gehoor in die teks as geheel beliggaam word. Hoofstuk 3 toon dat Augustinus se oordenking van Ps 4 in die sentrale gedeelte van die Confessiones (9.4.8-11) In protreptiese werk gerig op In Manichese gehoor is (3.1). Augustinus vereenslewig hom met sy teikengehoor Hoofstuk (3.2) en gebruik deurgaans Manichese terminologie en kategorieë (3.3). 4 ondersoek hoe die protreptiese doelwit in die Confessiones uitgedruk word deur die gebruik van verskeie tegnieke: voorafskaduing in die aanvangsparagraaf (4.1), die gebruik van In verskuiwende persona (4.2), verwysing na Matt 7:7 (4.3) en die tema van die protreptiese uitwerking van lees en luister (4.5). Ek evalueer hoe verteenwoordigend ten opsigte van die geheel die uitdrukking van die protreptiese doelwit is (4.4) en sluit met In analise van die protrepties-paranetiese interpretasie van die skeppingsverhaal funksie van die eerste deel van die allegoriese in boek 13 (4.6). Hoofstuk 5 ondersoek die mate waarin die teks as geheel die Manicheërs as die teikengehoor van die werk aandui. Dit toon iv Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za hoe Augustinus die tema van vriendskap gebruik om sy vroeëre Manichese vriendskappe op te roep en verwys na die geskiedenis van onsuksesvolle kommunikasie met hierdie groep (5.1); dit toon hoe curiositas 'n rol speel om die Manicheërs oor te haalom nog 'n poging om hulle te bekeer te lees (5.2) asook hoe verteenwoordigend ten opsigte van die geheel die bemoeienis met 'n Manichese gehoor is (5.3). Die hoofstuk sluit af, soos die vorige een, met 'n analise (nou van die tweede deel) van die allegorie in boek 13, met klem op die sterker wordende aanduidings dat Augustinus hier 'n Manichese gehoor in die oog het (5.4). v Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za The financial assistance of the National Research Foundation (NRF) towards this research is hereby acknowledged. Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at, are those of the author and are not necessarily to be attributed to the National Research Foundation. I also wish to acknowledge the financial assistance of the Harry Crossley Foundation towards this research. vi Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Opgedra aan Robert, Clara en Hanna. vii Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION 4 PART 1: PROLEGOMENA 8 CHAPTER 1: THE CONFESSIONS AND ffSACADEMlC SECONDARY LITERATURE READERS: A SURVEY OF 9 1.1 Theological and Hs.oricaI Perspedives 10 1.2 Literary Perspedives 14 1.21 The Issue clthe Unityclthe Confessions 15 1.22 A Selective ~w 1.2.3 Perspedives on Genre and Audience clLiterary Approaches CHAPTER 2: THE CONFESS/ONSANDffS to the Confessions 19 27 RRSTREADERS: GENREAND AUDIENCE 43 2.1 The Genre clthe Confessions 44 21.1 Genre and Communk:ative Purpose 44 a. Problems and Sdutions 44 b. A Definition cl Genre 47 c. The Run Nature clGenre 49 21.2 The Protreptic Genre a. Problems and Sdutions eo eo b. Definitions: Prdrepsis and Paraenesis 54 c. Charaderislic Features cl the Protreptic Genre 57 21.3 LJterary AnterecJents 62 21.4 Perspedives on Genre and the Unity clthe Confessions 79 22 The Audience clthe Confessions 00 221 Intended Audience 00 2.2.2 Augustine's Manichean Audience 83 1 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za 89 PART 2: ANALYSES CHAPTER 3: In medias res: COMMUNICA TIVEPURPOSEAND AUDIENCE IN THE MEDITA TION ON PSALM 4 at a Manichean 90 3.1 A lv1editation Direded 3.2 Identification with a Manichean Audience 3.3 The Use of Manichean Tenninology 100 CHAPTER4: Sic invenietur: PROTREPTlC PURPOSE 109 Reader 92 98 4.1 Indications of Protreptic Purpose in the Opening Paragraph of the Confessions 110 4.2 Perrona and Protreptic Purpose 114 4.3 Allusbn 4.4 How Pervasive are the Indications of ProIreptioParae Intent? 138 4.4.1 InBook1 139 4.4.2 InBook2 142 4.4.3 InBook3 144 4.4.4 InBook4 146 4.4.5 InBook5 147 4.4.6 InBook6 148 4.4.7 In Book 7 1W 4.4.8 InBook8 152 4.4.9 InBook9 152 4.4.10 InBook10 158 4.4.11 In Books 11 to 13 100 4.5 The Protreptic Povverof Reading and Ustening in the Confessions 162 4.5.1 The Hortensius 162 4.5.2 The Conversion Stories in Book 8 164 4.6 The Protreptic-Paraenetic 4.6.1 Sectkx1 (l): Hope in Spite of Present Imperfed Conditions (paragraphs 13 to 15) to Matthew Z'7 and the Expression of Protreptic Purpose Purpose of the Allegory in Book 13 2 125 172 176 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za 4.6.2 Sedkx1 (H): The Value and Authority of Scri(iure (paragraphs 16to 19) 180 4.6.3 Sedkx1 (iii): Exh:xtatbn to Bear Fruit (paragraphs 20 to 25) 182 4.6.4 Sedkx1 (N): The Value of the Preachirg and the Example of the Mini::i.ers (paragraphs 26 to~ ~ CHAPTER 5: OJ;narro haec: AUDIENCE 187 5.1 Manid7eans, Dereption, Friendship, and a History of Failed Communication 189 5.2 The Role ofcuriJsitas 193 5.3 How Pervasive is the Expression ofConcems with a Manid7ean Audience? 197 5.3.1 Books 1 to 10:A General Overview 199 a. In Books 1and 2 199 b. In Books 3 to 8 202 C. InBooks9and10 205 5.3.2 Manid7ean Echoes in the Prologue 206 5.3.3 Auguslines Analysis of the Creation Story and Continued Precxcupation Manid7ean Audience with a 210 a. In Book 11 211 5.4 The Manid7ean Audience of the AlIeg:xy in Book 13 223 5.4.1 Sedkx1 (0: Man in the Image of God (paragraphs 32 to 34) 224 5.4.2 Sedkx1 (\11): A ValSe Offensive to the Manicheans (paragraphs 35 to 37) 226 5.4.3 Sedkx1 (vii): Manid7ean Eafirg 228 5.4.4 Sedkx1 (viiO:Manid7ean V/eWSofCreation (paragraphs43 to 49) RifLtaJs (paragraphs 38 to 42) 232 CONCLUSION 236 BIBLIOGRAPHY 240 Translations and Texts of Primary Works 240 Reference List of Secondary Sources 241 3 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za INTRODUCTION It is a measure of the inadequacy of the understanding Augustine's of the modern period that great work should have become the "autobiography" of a sinful, guilt- ridden soul (Crosson 1989, 95). Crosson's closing statement in his convincing article, "Structure Augustine's Confessions," points to exactly what this dissertation calling Confessions "an autobiography" the clouds our and Meaning in St. is about: to show how understanding of this multi- dimensional literary work and how many of the problems surrounding the meaning of this text are the result of the inadequacy compositional of modern approaches rather than of Augustine's bad techniques, as some have believed. The Confessions is one of those ancient works around which an impossible dichotomy exists. It is, according to many, one of the great works of Western literature and probably, through all the ages, Augustine's most read work. Yet, it is arguably one of the least understood pieces of ancient titerature.' The very existence of the issues concerning the "historicity of the Confessions" and the "unity of the Confessions" is symptomatic of the perplexity many scholars still experience with the literary strategies employed demonstrated by Augustine in this work. The elusiveness of the problem is by the rare circumstance that, while scholars do agree, today, that there are ample indications of a well-construed unity, they are unable to agree on exactly what constitutes this unity.2 In this dissertation ultimately the primary focus is on the Confessions on structure, as a literary object and thus cohesion, and "unity." But I am convinced that one dissertation cannot constitute the breadth and depth of study necessary to finally solve the riddle of the literary unity of this work that is often described as an awkward combination of autobiography 1 Crosson also points to this anomaly when he describes the Confessions as "at once one of the most widely read and one of the least well understood books of our tradition" (1989, 86). Jens Holzhausen's remarks (2000, 519) illustrate that this is still the case: "In den letzten Jahren scheint die Forschung bei der Behandlung der Frage nach Einheit und Aufbau der Confessiones zu stagnieren, wenn nicht gar zu resignieren. Ein Konsens ist zwar darin erreicht, da~ die 13 Bucher des Werkes eine Einheit darstellen, aber nicht, worin diese besteht." 2 4 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za and exegesis. It can at best hope to make a significant contribution towards eventually arriving at an improved understanding. Thus, the emphasis is not on structure and unity in the first place, but on two aspects that we have to understand before we can comprehend the whole, namely the genre and the target audience of the work. Even here I narrow the scope of my research down to two distinct but interrelated areas: 1) to what extent does the Confessions conform to the standards of a specific genre, popular in the time of Augustine, the genre of the protreptic? and 2) to what extent is this protreptic aimed at a specific segment of the intended audience of the work, the Manicheans? The procedures and terminology employed in this dissertation do not require the elaborate exposition of a methodological framework. Thus, I have refrained (with the exception of the clarifying remarks on genre in chapter 2) from "first erecting a methodological framework" (O'Connell 1996, xv) based on, for example, the tenets of semiotics or reader reception theory mainly because of a personal conviction that theories like these with all their terminological particularities have the effect of estranging the reader, rather than the opposite. Of course, eclectic use is made of some categories and terms from these theoretical frameworks that have become part of mainstream terminology or are self evident enough to render long theoretical explanations superfluous. But, to evaluate the Confessions as a literary product of its time I venture into the issue of how the principles of genre in general and the literary practices of Late Antiquity in particular can and should influence a present day reading of the Confessions. This is supplemented by a short section highlighting the salient facts about Manicheism that need to be understood in order to follow the arguments about the work's Manichean audience (chapter 2). In chapters 3 to 5 I analyse selected passages from the text of the Confessions in order to pinpoint what chapter 2 identifies as the primary indicator of genre, the communicative purpose of the work, as well as to ascertain what we learn about the reader Augustine may have had in mind. I come to the conclusion that an important aspect of this communicative purpose is to convert the reader to the true Christianity Augustine claims to have found. I also argue that Augustine consciously imitates literary models that are in many respects similar to the Confessions, that bear the characteristics of the protreptic genre, but are very dissimilar to (modern) autobiography. This makes it imperative to believe that he is consciously using some of the devices of the protreptic genre as part of the communication strategy of his Confessions. Through these and other procedures, I hope to open up new perspectives on the Confessions by not focussing, like the vast majority of studies of the past century, on the Augustine "behind" the text, or the thought systems that make up the background to his 5 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za writing, but on the reader "in front of' the text. If the text makes use of some of the devices of the protreptic genre as I postulate, what interests me is how this text aims to influence its readers to make a life-changing choice and be converted. If the text, like all texts, implies its ideal reader by the very devices it employs, my question is who this ideal reader is, or narrowed down as it is here, to what degree this ideal reader is a Manichean contend that Augustine's aim in writing the Confessions reader. I was neither to analyse and understand himself nor to create for posterity a portrait of himself or even of his conversion. If we approach the text with the assumption that Augustine's aim was that of a traditional protreptic, namely to change the course of the life of its reader, the questions we ask change completely. We might ask, not why does Augustine break off his autobiographical section shortly after the account of his conversion, but why does Augustine make use of a more extended autobiographical section than expected; and not why does Augustine add three books of exegesis to his autobiography, but how does the theoretical section of this protreptic compare to that in other protreptic texts. All this said, I want to emphasize that my aim is not to "prove" that the Confessions protreptic and not an autobiography is a and to present this as a solution to the problems scholars still experience with this text. But it should be clear that providing a counterbalance to the presupposition combination of many scholars that the text consists of a less than successful of autobiography and exegesis by examining - in a more extensive and methodical manner than those who have suggested this possibility before now - the degree to which the Confessions can be read as a protreptic text may enhance our understanding of it. In conclusion: I thoroughly agree with O'Donnell's criticism of the positivistic approach to the Confessions one often encounters: "One prevailing weakness of many of these efforts has been the assumption that there lies somewhere neglected key to unlock all mysteries. unnoticed about the Confessions But for a text as multi-layered a and subtle as the Confessions, any attempt to find a single key is pointless." The more I read the Confessions as well as the thoughts of so many outstanding scholars over so many years on this work, the more I become aware of just how multi-layered and multi-dimensional it is, indeed, in O'Donnell's words (1992, 1:Ii), "a work that draws its rare power from complexity, subtlety, and nuance." Thus, this examination of the protreptic characteristics of Confessions and the degree to which its ideal reader is a Manichean reader can be no more than the unravelling of one strand of meaning while we remember that what is not said here is so much more than what is said. In fact, any effort to describe Augustine's 6 Confessions brings a new Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za dimension to our understanding of his own enigmatic words at the end of 1.4.4: loquaces muti sunt [though loquacious with verbosity, they have nothing to say].3 3 All references to the text of the Confessions are to O'Donnell's text (1992) and the translations given are those by Chadwick (1991) except where indicated otherwise. 7 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za PART1: PROLEGOMENA 8 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za CHAPTER 1: THE CONFESSIONS AND ITS ACADEMIC READERS: A SURVEY OF SECONDARY LITERATURE Even though the Confessions is usually referred to as one of the great works of Western literature, mainstream research on this work is not concerned with the Confessions as a literary object. This does not make the writing of a literary survey to preface a dissertation on the literary characteristics of the Confessions an easy task, however. First, mainstream research has been so influential in forming ideas, also of literary scholars, about Augustine's masterpiece that no scholar can claim to be completely independent of these readings and they cannot be passed over in complete silence.' Secondly, though the field of literary analysis of the Confessions still shows many lacunae, the amount of research that form the basis from which to go forward, remains lntlmldatlnq." I start this survey with a look at important theological and historical perspectives, as well as at the issue of the historicity of the Confessions (1.1), i.e. at mainstream but not primarily literary research. The focus is mainly, but not solely, on recent studies of the Confessions (research from roughly the past two decades). The second section of the chapter (1.2), on the problems discussion surrounding the literary qualities of the work, consists of an introductory of the long debated question of the unity of the Confessions (1.2.1) and a 1 Marrou's Saint Augustin et la fin de la culture antique (1938) illustrates the influence of studies that are not primarily literary on literary studies. I am convinced that a work as influential as his, and perhaps especially his (in)famous dictum, "Augustin compose mal" (1958, 61 et passim) must have had a profound effect on scholarship for a long time. This is the kind of formulation by an eminent scholar that is easily perpetuated in research for decades - in spite of the author's heart-felt retraction on this point (1958, 665-672) - before it is questioned seriously. For a concise but authoritative overview of the whole field of research on the Confessions in the past century, see the section, UA century of scholarship" (1992, xx-xxxii), in O'Donnell's introduction to his Augustine: Confessions. Because the primary focus of this dissertation is on literary studies, many well-known and major books on the Confessions will not be considered or only referred to in passing. Conversely, other studies that are not so well-known or influential will be discussed, albeit cursorily, either because they are recent publications and a discussion of them offers an opportunity for an overview of recent trends in research on the Confessions, or because they contribute to the specific reading of the work offered here. 2 9 JIllMiJ rTI=11 STElLENBOSCH , '''T~tt' Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za selective survey of only the works I find most helpful towards understanding those aspects of the Confessions under scrutiny in this dissertation (1.2.2). Lastly, I focus on that segment of research that constitutes the direct predecessors of the present study in the sense that it refers explicitly or implicitly to the genre and/ or the audience of the Confessions (Perspectives on genre and audience, 1.2.3). It should be understood that throughout, the selection of works to be discussed is governed by the specific goals of this dissertation and that what is presented does not purport to be exhaustive in any sense of the word.' 1.1 Theological and Historical Perspectives" In this section I discuss (because of the constraints of time and space) mainly works from the eighties onwards but with the main emphasis on those trends that have existed throughout the previous century. The greatest impetus for studying the Confessions has always come from the disciplines of theology and ancient history- (with philosophy and psychology in ancillary positions). Augustine's thought on various issues of universal importance has drawn scholars to the Confessions for centuries and, as the survey below shows, continues to do so. Prominent in theological studies during the last two decades has been Augustine's thought on a variety of theological issues like grace, morality, (original) sin, the nature of man or the soul, and his understanding of God and evil, expounded in the first six books and culminating in book 7;5 his description of (mystical) attempts to ascend to God in books 7 and 9;6 and the The researcher today has the freedom of selective treatment because of the availability of the easily accessible "Bulletin Augustinien", published annually in Revue des Études Augustiniennes, as well as the exhaustive list of works and the authoritative discussion of the Augustinian bibliography on the Confessions provided in Feldmann's long and concisely written essay, the mature fruit of many years of study on this work, in the Augustinus Lexicon (1994,1134-1193). Another very complete bibliography on the Confessions can be found in Stock's Augustine the Reader (1996). 3 In the following discussions I categorize studies as having a theological, philosophical, psychological or historical focus on the one hand and a literary focus on the other. This is merely an ordering principle and a very arbitrary procedure. Often a theological perspective is combined with a philosophical or historical concern, and, more importantly, a reading with a theological or historical aim often makes use of sound literary strategies to interpret the text. 4 See for example: Mann, "The theft of the Pears" (1978); Mayer's interest (1986) in Augustine's "Gnadenlehre"; Derycke, "Le vol des polres. parabole du péché original" (1987). Quinn's "AntiManichean and Other Moral Precisions in Conf3.7.12-9.17" (1988) investigates Augustine's thoughts on morality expressed in book 3. Feldmann's "Et inde rediens fecerat sibi deum (Conf. 7,20)" (1991) aims at clarifying Augustine's thinking about God (the article has, as the title indicates, a strong focus 5 10 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za conversion story in book 8.7 Augustine's conception of the nature and function of memory in book 10 has been the focus of studies from various dlsclpllnes," while the "digression" on the nature of time in book 11 has drawn much philosophical interest, 9 and Augustine's views on creation and on exegesis in books 11 to 13 once again mostly theoloqians." Another prominent group of studies are those that have the autobiographical contents of the Confessions as their main concern. With Augustine's life story as point of departure, they on theological matters and on the seventh book of the Confessions but also contains references to the protreptic overall purpose of the work). O'Connell (1993) aims to locate the heart of Augustine's thinking on the nature of the (fallen) soul. Cambronne (1993) analyses the pear-theft in Book 2 and his "Unde malum? Augustin et les questions sur Ie Mal" (1994) analyses especially book 7 of the Confessions in combination with the De civitate dei in order to explicate Augustine's ideas on the difficult philosophical question concerning the nature of evil. See also O'Donnell's "Augustine's Idea of God" (1994). 6 From a large number of works on the topic I name only a few: Courcelle's work in his Recherhes sur les Confessions de saint Augustin (1968, 157-167); Mandouze, Saint Augustin: L 'aventure de la raison et de la gráce (1968, 678-714); and Van Fleteren's work on this topic over many years, e.g. his "Authority and Reason, Faith and Understanding in the thought of Augustine" (1973); "Augustine's Ascent of the Soul in Book VII of the Confessions: A reconsideration" (1974) and, more recently, his "Mysticism in the Confessiones - A Controversy Revisited" (1994). See also Quinn, "Mysticism in the Confessiones: Four Passages Reconsidered" (1994); indeed the whole 1994 volume of Collectanea Augustiniana, which is dedicated to the topic "Augustine: Mystic and Mystagogue." 7 See for example O'Brien's "The Liturgical Form of Augustine's Conversion Narrative and its Theological Significance" (1978); Ferrari's "Beyond Augustine's Conversion Scene" (1992) and "Paul at the Conversion of Augustine" (1980); Bonner's "Augustine's 'Conversion': Historical Fact or Literary Device" (1993); Babcock's "Augustine and the Spirituality of Desire" (1995); Bochet's "Le livre VIII des 'Confessions': Récit de conversion et réflexion théologique" (1996); McGowan's "Ecstasy and Charity: Augustine with Nathanael under the Fig Tree" (1996). See for example Klose "Quaerere deum: Suche nach Gatt und Verstandnis Gottes in den Bekentnisse Augustins" (1979); Miyatani (1992) discusses the role of memory not only in book 10 but in the whole of the Confessions. 8 O'Donnell (1992, 3: 252) discusses the most important studies of the issue in the previous century. Interesting among relatively recent works are: O'Daly, "Augustine on the Measurement of Time: Some Comparisons with Aristotelian and Stoic Texts" (1981); Flood, "The Narrative Structure of Augustine's Confessions: Time's Quest For Eternity" (1988) that sees the unity of the Confessions (albeit in passing, 141) in the preoccupation with the themes of temporality and eternity throughout; Ross, "Time, The Heaven of Heavens, and Memory in Augustine's Confessions" (1991) that contains a good overview of approaches to the problems of book 11 (191-192); Flasch, Was ist Zeit (1993); Thompson "The Theological Dimension of Time in Confessiones XI" (1993); Severson's Time, Death, and Eternity: Reflecting on Augustine's Confessions in Light of Heidegger's Being And Time (1995) that discusses Book 11 of the Confessions as a point of departure for a thoroughly philosophical treatment of the nature of time; and Wetzel's "Time after Augustine" (1995). 9 10 Vannier's work on the triad creatio, conversio, formatio affords important insights not only on Augustine's ideas about creation in books 11 to 13 of the Confessions, but also into his thought in general as well as the framework of thought underpinning the progressions in the Confessions: "Saint Augustin et la création" (1990); Creatio, conversio, formatio chez saint Augustin, (1991b); "Aspects de I'ldée de création chez S. Augustin" (1991a); "Saint Augustin et Eckhart: Sur Ie probléme de la création" (1994). 11 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za treat general philosophical or theological issues." make psychological and psycho-analytical analyses of the character embodied in this story (this has remained highly popular during the last two decades)." or focus on the process of self-discovery embodied in the narrative." But most prominent in this category is of course the work of ancient historians who aim at perfecting their picture of the historical Auqustlne," an "autobiographical narrowly linked to the problem of the historicity of the quest" that is work." 11 See for example in the category of philosophically oriented studies, Kliever's "Confessions of unbelief: In quest of the vital lie" (1986); or Bernasconi's "At war with oneself: Augustine's phenomenology of the will in the Confessions" (1992). Bessner's published lectures, Augustins Bekentnisse als Emeuerung des Philosophierens (1991), offer in lectures 3 to 8 a discussion of the Confessions but attention to the work itself is strongly subordinate to the philosophical focus on the reactions of a man in changing times, as the subtitle, 13 Vorlesungen zur Geschichte der Philosophie von Augustinus bis Boethius, implies. 12 Psychological readings of the Confessions became increasingly popular during the previous century. These readings often constitute sensitive analyses of continuous sections of the work, and can of course also provide insight into its techniques and devices, especially of autobiographical writing. However, these studies are often less concerned with the work as a literary artefact than with modern categories of psycho-analysis. What they do illustrate - partly unintentionally - is one of the main reasons for the popularity of the Confessions: people remain interested in other people because they remain interested in themselves. The titles of some of the more recent articles provide an interesting kaleidoscopic vision of the interests covered in this field: Augustine's Confessions: A Study of Spiritual Maladjustment" (Dodds 1927-28); "Psychological Examination: Augustine" (Pruyser 1966); "Augustine and his analysts: The possibility of a psychohistory" (Fredriksen 1978); "Paul Ricoeur, Freudianism, and Augustine's Confessions" (Rigby 1985); "Augustine as narcissist: Comments on Paul Rigby's 'Paul Ricoeur, Freudianism and Augustine's Confessions'" (Capps 1985); "Augustine: The reader as selfobject" (Gay 1986); "Embracing Augustine: Reach, Restraint, and Romantic Resolution in the Confessions" (Elledge 1988); "Augustine: Death Anxiety and the Power and Limits of Language" (Fenn 1990); "A psychoanalytic study of the Confessions of St. Augustine" (Kligerman 1990); Donald Capp's "The Scourge of Shame and the Silencing of Adeodatus" (1990); Paul Rigby's "Augustine's Confessions: The Recognition of Fatherhood (1990); "Augustine on the Couch: Psychohistorical (Mis)readings of the Confessions" (Jonte-Pace 1993). 13 See for example Schmidt-Dengler's "Die 'aula memoriae' in den Konfessionen des heiligen Augustin" (1968); Suchocki's 'The Symbolic Structure of Augustine's Confessions" (1982); Starnes's "The Unity of the Confessions" (1983); Weintraub's "St. Augustine's Confessions: The search for a Christian Self' (1990). 14 The biographical quest starts with early works like Alfaric's L'évolution intellectuelle de saint Augustin (1918); Norregaard's Augustins Bekehrung (1923); Gibb and Montgomery's long introduction (1927, ix-lxx); Gilson's Introduction I' étude de saint Augustin (1943); and reaches its zenith with Courcelle's magisterial Recherches sur les Confessions de Saint Augustin (first published in 1950). But the quest continues in works like O'Meara's The Young Augustine (1954), Brown's Augustine of Hippo. A Biography (1967); Bonner's lemma "Augustinus" in Augustinus Lexicon (1986), and Solignac's contributions in Bibliothéque Augustinienne 13 (1992). a The big names in the debate on the historicity of the Confessions are those of Bossier (1888) and Harnack (1888), who opened the debate, Alfaric (1918), Boyer (1953, first published 1920), Le Blond (1950), Marrou (1951), Boyer (1953), which includes discussions of early works on the question of the historicity and Courcelle (1968, first published 1950) who brought a decisive change in views on the issue. Later surveys of research on the issue is provided by Ferrari's "Saint Augustine's Conversion Scene: The End of a Modern Debate?" (1989); Madec's "Le néoplatonisme dans la conversion 15 12 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za A few words on the issue of the historicity of the Confessions are necessary here, especially in the light of the fact that a scholar like Feldmann is of the opinion (1994, 1135) that scientific study of the Confessions had its origin in the argument about the historicity of the work initiated by Boissier and Harnack in 1888. The question of the historicity hinges on the differences scholars perceive between the Augustine delineated by his earliest works after the conversion (the philosophical dialogues written at Cassiciacum) gleaned from the story of the conversion presented in the details narrated constituted and the picture to be Contessions." in book 8 come under scrutiny. The two extremes Especially the of this debate are by those defending the literal truth of everything narrated in the Confessions on the one hand, and those believing that the literary devices employed in the structuring of the events make it obvious that this version is not true, on the other. Feldmann (1994) provides a concise discussion of the issue (1135-1136).17 Lastly in this section I want to mention the range of very valuable studies that bring the perspective of the broader cultural-religious and philosophical milieu within which the d'Augustin" (1989); and O'Meara's "Augustine's Confessions: Elements of Fiction" (1992). Bonner's "Augustine's 'conversion': historical fact or literary device" (1993) points out that some elements in the description of the conversion "must remain controversial as factual material, but the general narrative is convincing" (1993); Bochet (1996) explains that Augustine's narrative of his conversion in Book 8 of the Confessions does not have perfect historical representation as its aim but is subordinate to the overarching aim of the work as a whole. This brings the additional complication historical documents but their genre has Kevane (1986) analyses the philosophical as it was emerging at this stage of his Augustine's conversion" in this light. 16 that the Cassiciacum dialogues can also not be treated as to be taken into account to assure responsible readings. dialogues in order to circumscribe Augustine's philosophy development. He also evaluates the "the controversy on 17 On the issue of the historicity of the Confessions, see also for example, Eder, "Eigenart und GlaubwOrdigkeit der Confessiones des heiligen Augustinus" (1938); Dënt, "Aufbau und GlaubwOrdigkeit der Konfessionen und die Cassiciacumgesprache des Augustinus" (1969); Marrou, "La Querelle autour du 'Tolle, lege'" (1978a); Bonner, "Augustine's 'conversion': historical fact or literary device?" (1993); Bochet, "Le livre VIII de 'Confessions': récit de conversion et réflexion théologique," (1996). Ferrari's large number of articles on individual aspects of the Confessions published in almost all the leading Augustinian Journals over many years constitutes a careful reading of the text and has enhanced our understanding of the work significantly over the years. Especially his comparative analyses showing how the conversion scene in the Confessions functions on an intertextual level (1980, 1982 and 1987) and his arguments for seeing this as a well structured literary construct rather than an accurate historical account implicitly adds an important perspective on the compositional strategies of the whole. O'Connell's article, "The Visage of Philosophy at Cassiciacum" (1994, 65-76), together with the last chapter of his Images of Conversion in St. Augustine's Confessions (1996, 259-309), discussed below, fulfils the double function of providing a very good concise summary of the debate - he also touches on the works of the biggest role players in this debate - while at the same time illustrating how the discrepancies perceived between the conversion portrayed in the Confessions and that depicted in the philosophical dialogues of Cassiciacum are probably a result of modern readers' inability to decode the messages in these Dialogues. 13 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Confessions functioned into their readings of the text." The most important influences, apart from Catholic Christianity, probably came from Augustine's classical education," Manicheism (see discussion in chapter 2 and passim), and Neo-Platonlsrn." 1.2 Literary Perspectives" The complex and multifaceted nature of the Confessions often forces those who publish on it to carefully limit their analyses to a single well-defined aspect or to a short section of the 18 There are a number of recent publications that offer valuable assistance to the reader who wants to read Augustine's work as a product of its time. I include in this category some of the recent monographs (often introductions) that are published as parts of series, like Von Campenhausen's Aurelius Augustinus (1991). Clark's Augustine, the Confessions (1993) belongs in the category of broad introductions to the Confessions, but reflects some sound literary judgement. She observes, for example, that while the text in the first sections of the Confessions is undeniably autobiographical, what Augustine actually spends time on "are the beliefs he held about God, the reasons why he held them, and the questions they raise" (Clark 1993, 34). Where I disagree with Clark, is of course her (as far as I am concerned) too easily reached conclusion that the "philosophical-treatise-style" (that she correctly ascribes to the "autobiographical" part of the Confessions) as we" as the combination of autobiographical and "other" material is explained away by calling the work spiritual autobiography (1993, 34). Burns' article on Augustine's use of the Psalms in the Confessions (1993) focuses, contrary to what its title implies, on the role of Psalm singing in daily religious activities Augustine would have taken part in and how this influenced his view of the effect of these texts on individuals as we" as his knowledge of the texts, that Burns argue he quoted by heart; John M. Rist's, Augustine: Ancient Thought Baptized (1994) examines the development of Augustine's thought under the influence of the various philosophical and theological thought systems of his time; Johann Kreuzer's Augustinus (1995) also focuses on Augustine's thought; T. Kermit Scott insists that his Augustine: His Thought in Context (1995) is not for specialists but he provides the reader with illuminating insights on especially the religious environment within which Augustine worked and lived. See for example Harald Hagendahl's Augustine and the Latin Classics (1967); Hubner's "Die praetoria memoriae im zehnten Buch der Confessiones: Vergilisehes bei Augustin" (1981); Bennet's excellent article, "The Conversion of Vergil: The Aeneid in Augustine's Confessions" (1988); Churchill's "Inopem me copia fecit. Signs of Narcissus in Augustine's Confessions" (1989-90); Shanzer's "Latent Narrative Patterns, Alleqorical Choices, and Literary Unity in Augustine's Confessions" (1992) that attempts to discover the unity of the Confessions at the hand of the classical topoi used; and Colot (1994). 19 Highlighting the Neo-Platonic influences in the work are, for example, O'Meara's "Augustine and Neo-Platonism" (1958); O'Connell's articles "Ennead VI, 4 and 5 in the Works of Saint Augustine" (1963a); "The Plotinian Fa" of the Soul in St. Augustine" (1963b); "The Riddle of Augustine's 'Confessions': A Plotinian Key," with the ambitious aim to solve "once and for a" the nettling question of the unity of the work" (1964, 331); and his "Faith, Reason, and Ascent to Vision in St. Augustine" (1990); Van Fleteren's "Augustine's Ascent of the Soul in Book V" of the Confessions: A reconsideration" (1974); "A Comment on Some Questions Relating to Confessiones V,,: A reply to O'Connell" (1993); Madec's "Augustin et le neoplatonisme" (1986); and Pierre Fontan's "Une Exégése Néo-Platonicienne? (Le Livre X" des Confessions)" (1987). 20 In the following discussions I categorize studies as having a theological, philosophical, psychological or historical focus on the one hand and a literary focus on the other. This is merely an ordering principle and a very arbitrary procedure. Often a theological perspective is combined with a philosophical or historical concern, and, more importantly, a reading with a theological or historical aim often makes use of sound literary strategies to interpret the text. 21 14 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za work. Still, no analysis of literary devices in a given work can be completely divorced from some view on what the nature and purpose of the work as a whole constitute. This means that the present study, although it narrows its scope down to the protreptic features and the intended audience of the Confessions, is ultimately occupied with the meaning and purpose of the work as a whole and that in the following survey of work done on literary aspects of the Confessions, the issue of "the unity" looms large. 1.2.1 The Issue of the Unity of the Confessions What does the problem of the unity of the Confessions entail? In short, it comes down to the fact that at some stage in the reception of the work it came to be viewed as an autobiography with an exegetical section loosely appended at the end, as consisting of two disjunctive parts forming a badly constructed whole.22 Tracing the origin and development of this problem exceeds the limits of a study with its main focus elsewhere as does a detailed discussion of all the propositions concerning the unity of the work that have been offered in over a century of scholarship. On the one hand, the problem merits a treatment bigger than the introductory literary survey of a dissertation can afford and, on the other, good reasons would have to be present for repeating what has been done, ably and exhaustively, by Grotz and Feldmann.23 Grotz's Warum bringt Augustin in den /etzten BOchern seiner Confessiones eine Aus/egung der Genesis? (1970) surveys 35 attempts to explain the unity of the Confessions while Feldmann's lemma, Confessiones, in the Augustinus Lexicon (1994) entails, apart from the section about research on the problem of the unity, an authoritative survey of the whole field of research on the Confessions. But, let us take a quick look at the problem of the unity. What is the status quo in scholarship on the literary qualities and the unity of the Confessions at the beginning of the 21 st century? A comparison of the remarks by Grotz (1970, 15) and those by Jens Holzhausen (2000, 519), thirty years later, shows that, in spite of repeated efforts to discover "the key" to how 22 As Crosson (1989, 86) puts it: "Indeed although thematic and psychological accounts of the unity of the Confessions abound, the virtually unanimous critical judgment is that it is hastily put together, moves by fits and starts, dallies here and hurries there." This view of the text is illustrated by the phenomenon of text editions or translations that leave out the last three books of the work without much more than a quick remark describing these books as a less interesting addendum. See for example Blaiklock 1983 as well as discussions of this issue and references to shortened editions and translations for example in Williger's "Der Aufbau der Konfessionen Augustins" (1929, 81) or Steur's "De Eenheid van sint Augustinus' Confessiones" (1936, 17). I do think that a probing and creative study that draws together the strands that have been unravelled in the various approaches to understanding the Confessions could prove a very worthwhile independent project. 23 15 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za autobiography and exegesis can constitute a satisfying unity, in spite of a "galloping bibliography" during the fifties and sixties, and in spite of many sound analyses of the text (especially during the last few decades) the research community does not seem convinced that anyone has really sufficiently explained the unity of the Confessions. In 1970 Grotz comes to the following conclusion: Es gibt zwar sehr viele Gelehrte, die der Meinung sind, daê den Confessiones von Anfang an eine einheitliche sehen ist, d.h., Genesisexegese Holzhausen's was das Konzeption zugrunde liege, nur aber, worin diese zu einigende Band zwischen Lebensgeschichte und bildet, in dieser Frage ist man sich keineswegs einig (1970, 15). remark in his "Augustin als Biograph und Exeget" (2000) makes clear that thirty years along the line not much has changed as far as consensus on the literary unity of the Confessions is concerned: In den letzten Jahren scheint die Forschung bei der Behandlung der Frage nach Einheit und Aufbau der Confessiones zu stagnieren, wenn nicht gar zu resignieren. Ein Konsens ist zwar darin erreicht, da~ die 13 BOcher des Werkes eine Einheit darstellen, aber nicht, worin diese besteht. I think one of the causes for this situation is simply the fact that - as I have shown - focus on the Confessions as a literary work per se has never been part of the main stream of publications on it. Scholarship has consistently, even in the era of the galloping bibliography, been characterized by a dearth of wide-ranging and in-depth analyses of the literary qualities of the work. Holzhausen's observation (quoted above) is a clear indication that O'Donnell's criticism (1992, 1: xxii) of about ten years ago is still valid today: The sum total of all that has been accomplished in the last forty years weighs up to less than half what Courcelle accomplished in his one book. New lines of inquiry and new questions have not been risked. The issues have remained those that Courcelle defined, and the techniques remain his; infertility is the obvious fate of such debates. Thus, contrary to what the amount of titles in any bibliography of Augustine or of the Confessions may lead us to expect, research on the literary aspects and the unity of the work progresses at a relatively slow pace. The process of gaining an oversight of the large number of studies that attempt to describe the unity of the Confessions is, as I have indicated, greatly facilitated by the studies of Grotz (1970) and Feldmann (1994). Grotz's review of attempts to explain the unity of the Confessions up to the time of his own publication in 1970 (framed by two introductory and 16 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za two concluding chapters where he presents his own theory on the unity of the work) makes it clear that the majority of scholars up to that stage had taken the route of looking at the work itself and describing its contents in a way that hopes to make perceivable some kind of unity. Grotz (1970, 15-78) identifies 19 categories of ways in which researchers have described the contents of the Confessions. Also the studies that try to see the unity of the Confessions in the different aspects of confession, (confessio fidei and confessio laudis, 79-93) look for a unifying element in the work in a way that is not really different form the previous category. Grotz's own proposal on the unity (1970, 104-149) is to see books 1 to 9 as a reflection of "das erlësende Handein Gottes," book 10 as "das heiligende Handein Gottes" and books 1113 as "das schëpferische Handein Gottes." This constitutes yet another attempt to look at the contents of the Confessions and find a unifying element, using a method and basic perspective that does not differ substantially from those of his predecessors. Further, Grotz tests all attempts to explain the unity of the Confessions by one criterion: to make a valid suggestion about the unity of the work, research must explain why exactly the creation story from Genesis is the section from scripture explicated in Conf 11-13. But he advances no argument as to why this must be the ultimate question to be answered above any other. 24 The fact remains, however, that the whole of the research community has since persisted in Grotz's lack of enthusiasm Confessions for the different suggestions as to how the unity of the can be explained. The one thing that does emerge clearly from the studies represented in Grotz's survey is that there exists a large number of themes or lines that can be followed through the Confessions and that could provide a sense of unity to the reader, hence the consensus that the work does constitute a unity remarked on by both Grotz (1970) and Holzhausen (2000), quoted above. As far as the issue of the unity is concerned, Confessions Feldmann's section 4 of his essay on the in Augustinus Lexicon (1994) provides a concise and helpful discussion. He categorizes attempts to describe the unity of the work under six headings (note that in effect categories 1, 3, 4, and 5 all contain works that concentrate on the contents of the Confessions as the main indicator of where the unity resides ):25 1) those that see the unity One of the less successful aspects of Grotz's study is the fact that, although his second chapter (1970, 9-14) is dedicated to a warning against the widespread tendency to think of the Confessions as an autobiography, he seems in his subsequent procedure unable to heed his own warning and to move past an effort to seek (like the secondary studies he discusses) ways to explain the attachment of an exegetical section to "an autobiography." 24 25 For each of these categories I provide only the names of works that I found especially enlightening, with no attempt at being exhaustive. 17 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za provided information by the notion of confession from Augustine's throughout (1144-1146);26 2) studies that use historical situation at the time of writing the Confessions to provide a clue to its composition (1146-1147);27 3) those that seek to find the unity in the exposition of specific theological problems that we know Augustine was concerned with at the time of writing (1147);284) those that go out from the presupposition that books 11-13 are the actual goal of the Confessions and/or explain the rest of the work in the light of the Genesis exegesis (1147-1149);29 5) those that show how the use of certain motifs contribute to the compositional unity (1149);30 and 6) those few studies that have tried to examine the generic characteristics of the work (1149-1150).31 The remainder of Felmann's essay entails an illuminating aspects of research on the Confessions. discussion of all the relevant In his elucidation of different focus areas under the headings "Perspektiven der Forschungsgeschichte" (1134-1139), as well as "Textgeschichte 26 See for example Stiglmayr (1930); Verheijen (1949); Ratizinger (1957); Courcelle (1968); or Pfligersdorfer (1987). 27 See Wundt (1923) who sees the Confessions as an answer to Donatist accusations; Gibb and Montgomery (1927); Pincherle (1930); Perier (1931); and Adam (1958), who attempts to find the key to the work within the field of Manichean dogma and practice. 28 Steur (1936) sees in the Confessions a "Godsbewijs"; Cayré (1953) argues that the work is an illustration of God's presence in man; Wundt (1923) and Holte (1962) argue that the composition of the Confessions is governed by an illustration of the ascent to God, while O'Connell (1964) sees the fall and the return of the soul fulfilling this function; Zepf (1926), Williger (1929) and Boehmer (1974) see in the Confessions the explication of Augustine's dogma of grace. 29 For arguments along these lines see for example Gibb and Montgomery (1927); Nygren (1948); Duchrow (1965); Herzog (1984); and McMahon (1989). 30 Works that belong to this category form the majority of works discussed by Grotz (already mentioned above) and include the various proposals for the structural coherence of the work. See for example the following: Suchocki's "The Symbolic Structure of Augustine's Confessions" (1982) proposes an unusual structure based on the image of the two trees in the Confessions: the books with tree images, book 2 and book 8, are both followed by 5 books that constitute a unity. Waltraud Desch's Augustins Confessiones (1988) is an effort to establish the links between the "biographical" and the "theoretical" sections of the work and includes some interesting structural analyses. She discovers the same kind of chiastic structure in the first nine books as argued for by Stephany (see below). Kienzier's "Der Aufbau der Confessiones im Spiegel der Bibelzitate" (1989) focuses on formal features of structure as constituted by citations from scripture but works against the background of thematic analysis. Stephany (1989) proposes a chiastic structure for the first nine books of the Confessions. See also Steidle's "Augustins Confessiones als Buch. Gesamtkonzeption und Aufbau" (1982). 31 Feldmann discusses only Misch (1907) and Zepf (1926) in this section. Of course, one of the reasons for a scarcity of studies examining the genre of the Confessions is the commonly held belief in scholarship, even after Courcelle's convincing arguments (1963) to the contrary, that the work is sui generis, coupled with the assumption that it did not belong to any known genre. See my arguments against this possibility in chapter 2. 18 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za und Titel" (1139-1140), "Thematische Gliederung "Forschungsproblem: die Einheit der conf' (1143-1153), der conf' (1140-1143), and the concluding sections, "Zur kOnstlerischenForm der conf' (1180-1183) and "Datierung" (1184-1185) Feldmann presents a comprehensive overview of research on the Confessions, backed by an equally comprehensive bibliography (1185-1193). It is especially in sections 5 to 7, under the headings "Biographisch-intellektuelle Situation A.s zur Zeit der Abfassung der conf' (1153-1157), der conf' (1157-1166), Adressaten" (1166-1180) ''Theologische Struktur und Orlqlnalitët and "Theologisch-protreptische Gestaltung der conf und die that he argues for his own suggestion, that the Confessions belongs to the genre of protreptic texts. This proposal, supported mainly by an analysis of contents and by implication of communicative purpose (see discussion in chapter 2) has, as far as I can ascertain, been taken up by only one Augustinian scholar since, namely Mayer (1998), discussed below. Feldmann's thorough overview as a whole reflects a theological rather than a literary perspective but it is nearly exhaustive and his evaluations (both implicit and explicit) are sound." His contribution must be regarded as an invaluable tool for researchers struggling to see the wood for the trees in the bewildering amount of studies on the Confessions. The illuminating and easily accessible surveys by Grotz and Feldmann affords me the freedom of now offering only a very selective discussion of studies that occupy themselves with literary aspects of the Confessions. In the following discussion I focus only on publications that contribute directly to the ideas I present in this dissertation, whether they represent treatments of the unity or of isolated literary aspects of the work. 1.2.2 A Selective Overview of Literary Approaches to the Confessions This section concentrates on that segment of research that represents to my mind the most promising approaches to understanding the literary devices and the unity of the Confessions. Here I have to start with the one work without which an endeavour like the present dissertation would be infinitely more difficult to undertake, namely O'Donnell's commentary, Augustine: Confessions, published in 1992. The text edition, together with the two volumes of 32 However, Feldmann uses the same test as Grotz and, like him, provides no grounds for making this the ultimate criterion. See also Feldmann's earlier work on the unity of the Confessions: "Noch einmal: die Confessiones des Augustinus und ihre Einheit. Reflexionen zu ihrer Komposition" (1983) and "Literarische und theologische Probleme der Confessiones" (1988). 19 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za commentary embody a user friendly and highly authoritative tool, the value of which it is easy to underestimate when the work becomes a daily companion to the reading of the Confessions. The availability of the on-line version of this commentary also facilitates the process of looking up specific references tremendously. Especially helpful are the general introduction, the introductory sections and structural expositions on each book, as well as the complete versions of many of the texts that inform Augustine's writing (like that of Ps 4 and Gen 1:1-2:2), and the identification and full quotation of the Bible texts Augustine alludes to throughout, but particularly in the densely constructed allegorical reading presented in book 13. Also the authoritative discussions of and references to the most important research on all the major issues in research on the Confessions makes an almost impossible task less impossible. The amount of learning embodied in this one work cannot but have a profound and salutary effect on all subsequent research on this work. Let us look at studies that do not treat the issue of the unity as such but that contribute to our understanding of the literariness of the Confessions in general. In this category belong the studies of a purely grammatical, syntactical or stylistic (literary) problematic of autobiographical nature.f or that concentrate on the writing per se.34 The works considered in the latter category occupy themselves more with the fabric of autobiographical narration than with the generic characteristics prose or the manner of of the Confessions as autobiography. In the more recent past, a variety of analyses that make use of the theoretical frameworks of literary theory have seen the Iight.35 Belonging to roughly the same category are also those Arts' The Syntax of the Confessions of Saint Augustine (1927); Carrol's The Clausulae in the Confessions of St Augustine (1940). Mohrmann's work on the style of the Confessions constitutes some authoritative readings: "The Confessions as a Literary Work of Art" (1958); "Observations sur les Confessions de S. Augustin" (1959); "Saint Augustin écrivain" (1961). Poque's "L'lnvocation de Dieu dans les Confessions" (1991) is nothing more than a documentation of the instances and various forms of invocation in the Confessions. Testard's philological approach (1987) provides useful information on the use of superbia and its derivatives in the whole of the Confessions; Colot (1994) examines the meanings of the terms otium and quies throughout the Confessions but focuses more on the terms than on the progression in the work that could be deduced from their use. 33 Important works in this category are Olney's Metaphors of Self: The Meaning of Autobiography (1972); Vance's "Augustine's Confessions and the Grammar of Selfhoad" (1973); Spengemann's The Forms of Autobiography: Episodes in The History of a Literary Genre (1980); Rothfield's "Autobiography and Perspective in the Confessions of St. Augustine" (1981); Hawkins' Archetypes of Conversion. The Autobiographies of Augustine, Bunyan, and Merton (1985); Freecero's "Autobiography and Narrative" (1987) that argues for Augustine's creation of the genre of autobiography; Byrne's "Writing God's Story: Self and Narrative Structure in Augustine's Confessions" (1989); Susan Mennel's "Augustine's '1': The 'Knowing Subject' and the Self (1994); Ucciani's Saint Augustin ou le livre du moi (1998). 34 In this category belong works like Ralph Flores' chapter on the Confessions in his Rhetoric of Doubtful Authority: Deconstructive Readings of Self-Questioning Narratives, St. Augustine to Faulkner, 35 20 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za studies that describe the nature of the discourse in the contessions." Herzog's excellent analysis in his "NON IN SUA VOCE: Augustins Gesprach mit Gott in den Confessiones" (1984) is one of the few studies where, in the course of Herzog's very perceptive readings, using a particular hermeneutical model, the hermeneutical model is measured by its ability to describe the techniques used in the Confessions and found lacking. Other important contributions in this category are works that study the imagery in the Contessions." emphasize the centrality of language and reading as themes in the or that work." Then there are (1984); Margaret Ferguson's "Saint Augustine's Region of Unlikeness: The Crossing of Exile and Language" (1992); and Fendt's "Confessions' Bliss: Post-modern criticism as a palimpsest of Augustine's Confessions" (1995). To my mind these kinds of readings often serve more to illustrate the theory than to really advance our knowledge of the Confessions. Flores' The Rhetoric of Doubtful Authority: Deconstructive Readings of Self-Questioning Narratives, St. Augustine to Faulkner (1984) and Lamarre's "Les Confessions divisées. Discours du Maitre et discours del'Hystérique dans les Confessions de Saint Augustine" (1988) also use contemporary analytical models and terminology to analyse the nature of the discourse in the Confessions. See also Douglass' "Voice Re-cast: Augustine's Use of Conversation in De ordine and the Confessions" (1996). 36 Fontaine, "Sens et Valeur des images dans les 'Confessions" (1954); Cambronne's analysis of the imagery of temporality in the Confessions in his "Imaginaire et théologie dans les Confessions de Saint Augustin" contains a short section (1987, 221) where he argues that his findings in this regard provide yet another proof that the work is a unity: the consistency of the imagery as well as the logical sequence of books 1 to 13 based on the chronological logic expressed in the imagery of temporality. Georges Tavard's Lesjardins de saint Augustine. Lecture des Confessions (1988) presents a reading of the Confessions directed along the lines of the image of the garden and the symbolism attached to this image. He sees the Confessions as fundamentally occupied with the problem of time and space, specifically the position of God, whom Augustine defines as outside of time and space, relative to man and the whole of creation that are per definition limited by time and space. One of the most piercing studies is Crosson's "Structure and Meaning in Augustine's Confessions" (1989). What makes his findings fresh is the fact that he is not fettered by the expectations that a modern reader has of an autobiography. The structural symmetry Crosson suggests differs considerably from previous proposals: the first section of the Confessions consists of books 1 to 7 and the second of books 7 to 13 (1989, 94). The two parts are defined respectively by their focus on the dual philosophical problem of, first, "how God is to be understood as everywhere and yet as not in the world," and second, "how such a transcendent God who cannot appear in the world can act within the world, can speak audibly to us, can call us to Himself (1998, 94). 37 Flores (1984) calls reading in the Confessions "a unifying activity" and sees in the work a "preoccupation with language, or more specifically, with reading in the fullest sense, as including the complementary activities of writing, speaking and exegesis" (1975, 2); Robert Jacques (1988) points out the role of reading (and hearing) in book 8 of the Confessions. Smolak's article, "Sic itaque audiar: Zum Phanomen 'Sprache' in Augustins Confessiones" (1994) emphasizes the centrality of language (spoken, written and read) in the Confessions. Joseph Lienhard's "Reading the Bible and Learning to Read: The Influence of Education on St. Augustine's Exegesis" (1996) examines the reading culture Augustine worked in. Another work that is not dedicated to Confessions per se but offers a continuous and perceptive reading of the text of books 1 to 9 is Brian Stock's Augustine the Reader (1996). Stock's analyses serve to underscore the sophistication and intricacy of Augustine's writing. He follows one of the lines of the contrapuntal composition in a way that illustrates that we have here a masterly creative agent at work and that we should remain humble and cautious in our judgement of an ancient rhetorician's compositional abilities. Although this is not Stock's aim, his analysis of Augustine's sustained emphasis on the importance of reading in the Confessions, and on the fact that Augustine's conversion is presented as "the climax of his reading experience in Confessions 1-9" 38 21 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za the various structural analyses that are not focussed on the whole of the Confessions but on smaller sections or single books." I now proceed to studies of literary aspects of the Confessions that have a more direct bearing (explicitly or implicitly) on the unity of the work or on the issues treated in this dissertation, namely the purpose and audience of the Confessions. First, one of the factors that have lead scholars to doubt that the Confessions constitutes a literary unity is the discrepancy between Augustine's expressed intention to cover the whole of scripture in the exegetical section and what he actually does. McMahon's Augustine's Prayerful Ascent: An Essay on the Literary Form of the Confessions (1989) proposes an interesting interpretation to make sense of this.4o He postulates that the narrating Augustine, that is, the character Augustine, has to be distinguished from the author, the creative power, Augustine. This narrating Augustine does propose to write an exegesis of the whole of scripture, but is unexpectedly shown by God that the whole message of scripture is allegorically represented by the creation story in Gen 1, where the seventh day of rest represents the eternal rest of the apocalypse." An approach to understanding the unity of the Confessions and its literary devices that I find especially illuminating is the one that throws light on rhetorical practice in Augustine's day. Boyle's "The prudential Augustine: The Virtuous Structure and Sense of his Confessions" (1987) starts with an interpretation of Augustine's remarks on the Confessions Retractationes. in his She proceeds to unfold aspects of rhetorical practice that must have governed Augustine's way of thinking and that is usually not taken into account either when the Retractationes passage is interpreted or when Augustine's compositional techniques in the Confessions are evaluated. She spells out what I have always believed, namely that (Stock 1996, 75) constitutes another argument in favour of my argument that Augustine intended the Confessions itself as conversional reading, as a protreptic text. Levenson (1985) proposes a perfect symmetry in books 1-9 but ignores the rest of the Confessions. Starnes (1990) presents a convincing argument for what is to my mind only one of the grids holding together the structure of the Confessions, namely its interlacing of Trinitarian patterns: he sees books 1-9 as centred around the first person of the Trinity (God the Father and Creator), book 10 around the second person (Christ the mediator), and books 11-13 around the third person (the Holy Spirit). These bigger sections are each in turn built up of three smaller sections devoted to the different persons of the Trinity. He sees the three main sections as three separate confessions constituting one autobiographical whole. 39 McMahon's thesis has in general not been well received by the research community, mainly on the grounds that the parallels he endeavours to establish between the first and second sections of the Confessions places an exegetical burden on the text which it cannot really bear. 40 But see my arguments in chapter 5 that Augustine's meditation does indeed, in an important sense, represent a reading of the whole of scripture. 41 22 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za when modern readers describe the Confessions as a work comprising two distinct genres (autobiography and exegesis) they in fact accuse Augustine, the master of rhetoric, of "violation of the prime canon of composition - unity ... a rhetorical fault for which as a schoolboy Augustine would have been flogged" (129). She then presents a very convincing argument, based on what can be known about the influence of Cicero's rhetoric and his philosophy on Augustine's thought, to prove the opposite. First, the difficulty caused by the reference in the Retractationes to the two sections of the Confessions as a section "de me" and a section "de scripturis sanctis" (which has contributed to modern readers' view of the work as consisting of two disjunctive sections) ceases to exist if the de is interpreted as a technical term, denoting "the person or place from which a thing is taken, that is, its origin" (130). Boyle's interpretation of the passage from the Retractationes based on this information provides a completely different perspective on how the unity of the work can be seen: Augustine is not discoursing about himself and about scripture, about his evils and about his goods, but from these topics about 'the good and just God.' It is God who is thematic of the discourse, the object of its praise. Self and scripture, which he parallels with evil and good, are merely the topics from which he invents the encomium (1987, 130).42 Further, Boyle (131) points out that Cicero's De Legibus provides a precedent for Augustine's "dual invention" from persons and documents (de me; de scripturis sanctis). Also our perspective on the creation narrative in the last section of the Confessions takes on a whole different aspect in the light of Cicero's advice in the De Legibus 1.23.61 (adduced by Boyle 1987, 131) that the way to know oneself, is through contemplation of the nature of the unlverse." quom cae/um, terras, maria rerumque omnium naturam perspexerit, eaque unde generata quo recursura, quando, quo modo obitura, quid in iis morta/e et caducum, quid divinum aeternumque sit viderit, ipsumque ea moderantem et regentem deum 42The last section of the quotation above brings me to what I find it problematic in Boyle (1987, 132), namely that she seems to see all "types" of epideictic rhetoric as belonging to the same genre, and thus to conflate different genres of the epideictic type. As chapter two shows, I follow Berger in calling types like panegyric, hymn and also protreptic, specific genres that fall for example under the overarching category of epideictic or symboleutic rhetoric. Though Berger categorizes protreptic as symboleutic rhetoric he concedes that there are also grounds for categorizing it as epideictic and most of Boyle's observations about epideictic rhetoric remain applicable to the protreptic genre as I see it. 43 Boyle quotes Keyes' translation (1970), which I also use here. 23 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za paene prenderit, seseque non humanis circum datum moenibus popularem alicuius definiti loci, magnificentia sed civem totius mundi quasi unius urbis agnoverit, in hac ille rerum, atque in hoc conspectu et cognitione naturae, dii inmortales, quam se ipse noseet, quod Apollo praecepit Pythius, quam contemnet, quam despiciet, quam pro nihilo putabit ea quae volgo dicuntur amplissima! [And further, when it has examined the heavens, the earth, the seas, the nature of the universe, and understands whence all these things came and whither they must return, when and how they are destined to perish, what part of them is mortal and transient and what is divine and eternal; and when it almost lays hold of the ruler and governor or the universe, and when it realizes that it is not shut in by (narrow) walls as a resident of some fixed spot, but is a citizen of the whole universe, as it were of a single city then in the midst of this universal grandeur, and with such a view and comprehension of nature, ye immortal gods, how well it will know itself, according to the precept of the Pythian Apollo!]. Thus, it is clear that to an audience that may have been familiar with this association between the individual and the universe the subject matter of the two sections of the Confessions may have been far less surprising or puzzling than to a modern reader. Unfortunately, in my opinion, when Boyle (135) interprets the phrase from the Retractationes spelling out the purpose of the Confessions (confessionum mearum libri tredecim et de malis et de bonis meis deum laudant ius tum et bonum atque in eum excitant humanum intellectum et affectum) she interprets this purpose, like the majority of scholars, to be to praise God and does not pay any attention to the last part of the sentence, namely that the purpose of praising God in turn has the purpose to arouse the reader to convert to Him. Next, let us look at another study that examines the implications of ancient rhetorical practice for an understanding of the Confessions. If Dilorenzo's arguments (1983) about the meaning of the term confessio for Augustine are valid, this provides very strong support indeed for the suggestion that the Confessions is to be read as a protreptic text. Dilorenzo contends that Augustine's "notion of confessio derives not only from Biblical psalmody (confessio laudis and confessio peccetiï' "theory of verbal (124) but also from the theory of epideictic rhetoric, which is the praise (laudatio) and blame (vituperatio)" (125).44 What others have described as an alternation between the narrative and the reflexive level in the Confessions, "In Augustine's Confessions, the psalmic modes of confession and rhetorical epideixis or demonstration merge together in the praise of God and the vituperation of sin and manifest to men the spiritual psychotherapy of God's mercy (misericordia) and the beneficent designs of his providence" (125). 44 24 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za he describes as the typical procedure of rhetoricians who constantly move between "hypotheses" (specific examples) and "theses" (general statements). Dilorenzo does not use the term "protreptic" but repeatedly points to the aim of Augustine's epideictic rhetoric as to raise the understanding and affections (of Augustine and his readers) to God and to Augustine's confessio as "a verbal response to or, perhaps, a verbal respeaking of God's persuasive speech to the soul" (126). He says in the closing paragraph: "In the final analysis, Augustine's Libri confessionum are a respeaking of God's Word, persuasively converting the soul from the false love of creatures to the love of the creator - the creator who creates by speaking!" (127). Another common approach that scholars have used in their endeavours to explain the unity of the Confessions is to look at the meaning of the title, Confessiones, and its derivatives, and at how the work embodies the idea of confession. Here I want to refer only to two recent suggestions about the meaning of the title (Dilorenzo's arguments (1983), that also concern the title of the work, I have already discussed above). Scott's perceptive discussion (1992, 35-43) of the philosophical, forensic and religious connotations of the word "contltett' and its derivatives supports a convincing argument on how "the structure of testimony" illuminates the communicative purpose of the narcissistic act of self-orientation readers: "Augustine Confessions. This is a purpose transcending "a through writing" (41) and aiming at the edification of its ... offers a written self to his fellow-Christians as exhortation, and a statement of Christian fellowship, and of course, as a sacrifice to the Christian God himself' (42). Siebach (1995), in the opening section of his article on the rhetorical strategies in Book 1 of the Confessions, argues that the word confessio can also mean "proof' and that "St. Augustine uses a proof historical/autobiographical for God's existence as the structuring principle of his narrative" (1995, 93).45 More interesting from my point of view, as will become clear in chapter 2, is "the linking of confessio as proof and medicinal metaphors" (Siebach 1995, 94) where confessio is interpreted as the action through which the sinner petitions the Christus Medicus to heal his sickness. Siebach argues that this "suggests an association relevant to the history of confession as a philosophical and moral practice," (94) and that the influence of Plato's Gorgias may be discernable in the Confessions (95). This constitutes a strong argument supportive of my thesis that the milieu that informs the choice of genre for the Confessions is that of philosophical and moral practice (see chapter 2). Although scholarship agrees that for Augustine and his contemporaries the existence of a god, or the gods and many divine figures was taken for granted and not something that needed to be proven, one need not, for this reason, discard all of Siebach's argument. The rhetorical strategy in the opening books of the Confessions may well be to illustrate, as he puts it, "an explicit search for the signs of God's existence in Augustine's life-experience" (1995, 94). 45 25 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Let us look at another approach to the question of the unity of the Confessions that in my opinion is proposed by a number of good exponents, namely the one that emphasizes the parallels between the story of the individual's conversion in books 1 to 10 and the focus in the narrative of books 11-13 on creation's turn towards God.46 One of the most important gains of this approach is the significant somewhat lopsided emphasizes autobiography. throughout the strong move away from viewing the Confessions Tavard's influence Les jardins of Manichean de saint as a Augustine (1988) dogma on the problematic Augustine treats. The latter portrays himself as thinking his way from a Manichean God spread out in space and not separate from the temporal, through a (strongly neo-Platonic) God who is outside of time and space, towards the Creator God and his relation with man mediated by a (thoroughly Christian) Mediator. Although Tavard does not treat the problem of the unity as such, his reading implicitly conveys his perception of the Confessions as a satisfactory and organic whole where the basic problem of what God is (with its spatial and temporal ramifications) uttered at the beginning of the work leads with inexorable logic through the story of Augustine's life, his examination of memory, his musings about time, to his expositions of the Trinitarian creator God at the end of the work. Reminiscent in many ways of Tavard's approach is O'Connell's Images of Conversion in St. Augustine's Confessions (1996). His main focus is on the conversion experiences (or different stages of an ongoing conversion process) described by Augustine: the account of his reading of the Horlensius and how it affected him in Book 3; the narration of the difficult thought processes which eventually enabled him to conceive of God as a spiritual being in book 7; and the famous description of his final conversion in book 8. O'Connell's very readable style and clear presentation of arguments make this sensitive and piercing reading of Augustine's text a most valuable contribution towards our understanding of the Conïessions." It is especially his insistence that an explication of Augustine's world view his insights into the relative places of all elements of this world - is an important objective of 46 Knauer's article "Peregrinatio Animae" (1957), although its main focus is elsewhere, refers to the conversio of the creatura intel/ectua/is, described in book 13 of the Confessions, a conversio that is parallel to that of man (244-246). O'Connell's focus does, however, ultimately seem to be on the historical Augustine as is indicated when he expresses his frustration at Augustine's often simply not providing the reader with the kind of detail needed to reconstruct this historical person. Still, the perceptive readings provide an important corollary for the way I read the Confessions, especially in two respects: firstly, they show, like Tavard's reading, the prominence of the Manichean thought system and its refutation that runs like a leitmotiv through the key passages analysed; and secondly, they emphasize the importance of Augustine's reading of the Hortensius (generally assumed to be a protreptic text) in all descriptions of conversion. 47 26 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za the narrative throughout the Confessions that illustrates a perception similar to Tavard's of the unity of the work." Let us end with a look at one of the most recent articles on the unity of the Confessions. Holzhausen's "Augustin als Biograph und Exeget" (2000), in its criticism of all efforts to explain the unity by reading the last three books of the work as an extension ("Erganzung oder FortfOhrung") of the autobiography in the first ten, joins its voice to those of the previous category: "Diese Grundannahme eines biographischen Bezugspunktes der Schlufsbucher scheint mir dem Text nicht gerecht zu werden" (Holzhausen 2000, 521). He argues, in a manner reminiscent of Miles, that the sudden movement away from the autobiographical and towards the exegetical is intended to astonish the reader and that, if we want to understand the unity of the Confessions, we need to enquire into the reasons for this unexpected turn without trying to deny its surprising and irritating nature. His reading of the second half of the work as a new perspective on essentially the same story as the first half - albeit a story he does not call autobiographical - does not seem significantly different from previous proposals, however." 1.2.3 Perspectives on Genre and Audience In this final section of the survey of studies on the Confessions I focus exclusively on publications or, more often, sections from publications that collaborate the reading of the Confessions presented in this dissertation. I discuss more or less chronologically views that pertain to my arguments about the genre and/ or the audience of the work. Findings that support my arguments for calling the Confessions a protreptic is, however, usually not part of examinations of the generic characteristics of the work. It is often researchers who analyse the way in which the text tries to influence its audience who formulate their findings in a way that makes clear the protreptic communicative purpose of the Confessions. The following Similar in approach but less compelling is Miles (1992). She argues that the disjunctive nature of the two parts of the Confessions (that nevertheless constitute an autobiographical whole) is designed to make the reader realize the difference between the "old" and the "new" Augustine: 'The textual disjunction - autobiographical narration to philosophical essay - signals the disjunction Augustine experienced and for which he seeks precise expression" (Miles 1992, 126). See also Bochet (1993, 22-37) who, by postulating that the interpretation of scripture is the ultimate goal of Augustine's spiritual journey, sees the last section of the Confessions as the most important. 48 Holzhausen proposes a four-step journey for man (described in books 1-9), "Geburt - Bekehrung kirchliche Existenz - Ausblick auf das kOnftige Jenseits" (2000,527), which is paralleled by the four step process ascribed to God's action in time (described in books 11-13), "Schëpfung - Erlësung (durch Christus) - Kirche - Weltende mit folgendem ewigem Gottesreich (2000, 524) with book 10 as the bridge between the two sections. 49 27 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za discussions illustrate exactly how closely interrelated the issues of genre and intended audience are. Let us start with a look at the relatively small number of studies that have occupied themselves explicitly with the genre of the Confessions. First, studies that do pay attention the genre of the Confessions, even though they warn that it is no "usual" autobloqraphy," almost always refer to it as some sort of autobiography: spiritual, intellectual, psychological, or confessional problematic elaborate autobioqraphy." Viewing the Confessions as any kind of "autobiography" in a number of ways. First, calling the work an autobiography explanations of how what has become commonly section" can be seen as part of this autobiography. is always implies known as "the exegetical Secondly, the term autobiography to denote a specific genre only came into being many centuries after the Confessions was written. In Augustine's time the use of autobiographical material in many guises was common (as it had been in classical Antiquity) but there are no indications that audiences could have known anything like a "pure" autobiography, their expectations Confessions analogous to modern autobiography, to base of this text on. Thus, thirdly, the biggest problem caused by viewing the as some kind of autobiography is to my mind the (invalid) subconscious expectations this brings into play for modern readers. Before we look once again at the proposal by Feldmann, repeated by Mayer, that the Confessions may be read as a protreptic text, let us look at the article, "Le livre XIII et la structure des Confessions de Saint Augustin," by Joubert (1992) who does not call the genre Pincherle (1976, 123) warns: "What one should never forget is that autobiography, in the ordinary sense of the word, is not the principal element of the Confessions," as does O'Donnell (1985, 83): "This is emphatically not the 'first modern autobiography,' for the autobiographical narrative that takes up part of the work is incidental content while prayer is the significant form." Bochet (1993) is another author who, to my mind, does not follow through on her own argument that the Confessions is no "usual" autobiography: "Les Confessions sont loin d'être une simple autobiographie au sens habituel du terme ... Les Confessions seraient ... caractériser plutot comme des 'exercices sprituels,' tant pour Augustien que pour ses lecteurs" (1993, 36-37). Her aim to establish the link between the autobiographical and the exegetical parts of the work coupled with her insistence that "compréhension de soi" constitutes the goal of the Confessions, indicate that her expectations of the text remain essentially the same as for a modern autobiography. 50 a 51 For a full discussion of the various genres that have been ascribed to the Confessions (varying from different kinds of autobiography to theological treatise or simply story) see Troxel's "What did Augustine Confess in his Confessions?" (1994, 164-166). Paolini (1982) sees in the Confessions the origin of "confession as a literary genre," and describes it as the first exponent of "Christian literary confession" (1982, 7) or as "confessional autobiography (1982, 19). See also Scott's discussion of confessional autobiography (1992,32-34) and Clark's Augustine, the Confessions, where she explains away the "philosophical-treatise-style" (that she correctly ascribes to the "autobiographical" part of the Confessions) as well as the combination of autobiographical and "other" material in the work by calling the work spiritual autobiography (1993, 34). 28 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za of the Confessions the protreptic, but who, nevertheless, explicitly ascribes to it a protreptic communicative function. Catherine Joubert's article has the expressed aim of illuminating the structure of the Confessions through an examination of the function of book 13, which she sees as the key to the unity of the work (78). The basic tenets of my arguments in this dissertation are similar to Joubert's suggestions: namely, that the aim of the Confessions is to convert and that the most important segment of the intended audience is the Manicheans (88-94).52 I find it a pity that Joubert, after identifying the purpose of the Confessions as protreptic (although she does not use this technical term), still describes the work as comprising "son autobiographie d'une part et une exégêse ... d'autre part" (99). I feel that the moment we can describe the communicative function of the work as one completely foreign at least to autobiography as this term is commonly understood today, if not to exegesis, we should stop describing the work in terms of a combination of autobiography and exegesis. However, Joubert's reading of the Confessions is a sensitive one that I discuss further in chapter 5. Let us return to the work of Feldmann and Mayer in order to make clear how the present study complements their work. The proposals of these two scholars for reading the work as a protreptic and their expositions of what the protreptic genre entails, what its characteristics or communicative functions are, or why Augustine may have found it the appropriate vehicle for his message (Feldmann 1994, 1166-1167, Mayer 1998, 286, 288-289), do, however, leave room for a more detailed and larger scale study like the present one.53 Still, all the most important presuppositions of the present study are present, in nuce, in Feldmann's article: that the (main) theme of the Confessions is to illustrate how God guided every aspect of Augustine's life in order to bring him into the right "Lebensform" (1166); that Augustine's concept of God makes it very probable that he saw it as his duty to use his own life story to lead others to God (1167); and that Manichean concerns play an important role throughout and especially in the choice of Gen 1:1-2:2 as the subject for the exegesis in books 11-13 of the Confessions. I agree with Joubert's arguments that the Manicheans are not the only group Augustine addresses in the Confessions (she names the Neo-Platonists as another important group), but in this dissertation concentrate only on the Manichean segment of Augustine's intended audience. 52 This is, of course, due to the constraints of the type of article they write. But, even as Feldmann expounds the contents of the work in a way that demonstrates the use of topoi or vocabulary typical of the protreptic genre he does not argue his case convincingly, either unaware of the implications of the occurrence of these topoi or assuming it to be general knowledge. Also the implications of ascribing, very correctly in my opinion, the functions of "Dienst fOr die Wahrheit" or "VerkOndigung der HI. Schrift" (1994, 1160) to the Confessions are never spelt out. 53 29 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za What the constraints of the Augustinus Lexicon does not allow Feldmann to do, and what I propose to do here, is to theorise more about the problem of genre in general, the literary climate within which the Confessions came into being, and the specific nature of the philosophical protreptic. Also the interaction between paraenesis and protrepsis and the different kinds of audiences these aimed at, is something that can fruitfully be expanded on. It is, in fact, especially on the topic of the intended audience of the Confessions and the many indications in the text of a constant awareness of this audience that I intend to spend much more energy than either Mayer or Feldmann has done. Of course, every reader reporting her findings in a systematic argument, can write down her reception of only a limited number of sections from the text, and each new reading will present, if only for this reason, a new perspective. Feldmann seems to call the Confessions a protreptic on the grounds that this is its communicative function, but seems to assume that this has no implications for the form ("kOnstlerischenForm") of the work. He does note that the difficulty of understanding the form of the Confessions concerns the original way in which Augustine draws on the various sources available to him. Feldmann further points to an important perspective on the function of the Confessions by insisting that the verb uti describes the function of the autobiographical narrative much better than the verb frui (1994, 1163). Modern readers very often seem unable to look past the fruifunction of the Confessions when they insist that the work fulfils the function of helping Augustine to understand himself whereas I agree with Feldmann that Augustine is much more interested in using (utI) the autobiographical narrative to help others understand their own shortcomings and how they should change their lives. This is achieved by the oscillation between the narrative and reflexive level of the text where the latter mode allows Augustine to make explicit (to a certain degree) the implications his life-story is supposed to have for the reader's own life: namely to lead him or her towards a new, or right, "Lebensform" (1994, 1166 et passim). With the exception of Feldmann's and Mayer's proposal about the genre of the work other suggestions mostly do not correspond to what constitutes a genre in ancient llterature.P' What I do find encouraging, however, is the number of voices that have been raised to argue that the Confessions cannot be viewed as an autobloqraphy." 54 See for example the suggestions evaluated by Troxel (1994). See for example Scott (1992, 43): "The Confessions are autobiographical, but this is not the primary intention informing Augustine's self-writing;" or Troxel (1994, 171): "Augustine inteded his book to be read in a significantly different manner than a typical autobiography." 55 30 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Before Courcelle (1963) proved convincingly, to my mind, that the Confessions is heavily indebted to a large number of texts for the literary devices employed there (see detailed discussion in chapter 2) it was a commonplace in scholarship to refer to the originality or novelty of the work. While I do not deny that the Confessions may have been received as something original, new and fresh, I do not think that the originality extended as far as making the work sui generis to the extent that generic considerations did not come into play, as scholarship seems to have assumed (but more about this also in chapter 2). There are a number of studies that see in the Confessions the creation of a new genre, but what they identify (and rightly so) as new, is in fact more the voice or the timbre, the medium of expression, of the work, and specifically of the autobiographical narration offered there, than the genre. A look at Fontaine's "Une révolution littéraire dans I'Occident Latin: Les Confessions de saint Augustin" (1987) illustrates my case. He formulates the novelty of the work as follows: II a inventé, pour le dire, des moyens d'expression si raffinés et si neufs qu'ils ont proprement donné naissance a un genre littéraire nouveau ... Je me propose de Ie montrer en suivant trois lignes de force, que je résumerai en trois mots: parole, culture, musique (1987, 176). What Augustine wrote may be called a new style or a new means of expression, but what Fontaine refers to does not constitute a new genre. In the following I focus on statements that do not pertain directly to the genre of the Confessions, but that originate from sound analyses of the text and that support my thesis (following Feldmann and Mayer) that the Confessions belongs to the protreptic genre. This procedure is made difficult in the sense that my own explanation of exactly what constitutes a genre and the protreptic genre in particular only follows in chapter 2. For the time being the reader is entreated to bear with me while only the broad definition of a protreptic as a text aiming at influencing its reader to choose a different course of life is kept in mind. Let us proceed to look at publications that do not call the Confessions a protreptic but ascribe to it functions akin to that of the protreptic. From early in the previous century, studies appear at intervals that are less predisposed towards judging the Confessions as though it were an autobiography and that make some effort to describe its aim in a way that distinguishes it from modern autobiography. Wundt's approach (1923) already contains some elements that I feel should still characterize endeavours to read the Confessions today. There is in the first place Wundt's implicit refusal (1923, 161) to accept that Augustine's reasons for writing the Confessions were in any way similar to those of later writers who wrote their life stories (even 31 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za if the Confessions significantly influenced these stories). Wundt comes to different conclusions than I do,56 but in his intention not to judge the form of the Confessions by looking at the contents of the work, he distinguishes himself from a majority of studies that have unsuccessfully followed this procedure. Also his argument (1922, 63-64) that Augustine uses Neo-Platonic arguments especially to counter Manichean ideas provides an important corollary for my interpretation of the Confessions as aimed primarily at a Manichean audience. Billicsich (1929), even though he strongly emphasizes the aim of the Confessions as praising and thanking God and only just convinces himself ("auch die Exkurse sind von Wert;" 1929, 150), comes to my mind tantalizingly close to seeing the aim of the work as protreptic. He quotes the passage from the Retractationes that I have referred to above and brings it in line with a number of passages from the Confessions that express the same aim, namely to show the reader that he or she can call on God (Conf 2.3.5), to awaken the soul of the reader (Conf 10.3.4), and to excite in the reader a love for God (Conf 11.1.1). Also Cayré's "Le sens en I'unité des Confessions" (1953), makes a few suggestions that sound like an early draft of this dissertation. Unfortunately, in an article of limited extent, many of Cayré's suggestions remain no more than suggestions that he does not work out in full. But let us look at the most important of his proposals that I develop in the present dissertation. First there is his proposition (1953, 14) that we should see the Confessions as belonging the same genre as, among other works, Justin's Dialogus cum Tryphone by, Hilary of Poitiers' De Trinitate, and Cyprian's Ad Donatum (see my discussion of this same topic in chapter 2): II faut précisément ranger les Confessions dans un genre dont les Péres usaient I'occasion avec la charmante simplicité d'árnes toutes vouées raconté leur conversion en tête d'un grand ouvrage, a a Dieu. Certains ont pour mieux conquérir la confiance du lecteur. While Cayré's closing phrase in the quotation above is a perceptive description of one of the functions of a conversion story at the outset of a bigger work, he then goes on to ignore the implications of his own statement. He speaks of "ce genre d'histoire" (1953, 15) with no further attempt at describing or even considering the genre of the named works, and, like 56 A large part of his article (1923, 166-178) is spent on finding "der ëutsere Anlaê" that gave rise to the writing of this work. Here and in the rest of the article he makes out a case for seeing Augustine's ongoing struggle with the Donatists as the most important subtext for understanding the Confessions. 32 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Courcelle (see discussion in chapter 2), seems to see the only point of comparison between them and the Confessions in the autobiographical sections that are used as a preface, or as a kind of captatio benevolentiae. He is thus left, like Courcelle (1950) with the untenable proposition (which he upholds) that the first half of the work, books 1 to 9, is no more than an introduction. Also in his description of the aim of the Confessions Cayré focuses on some of the same arguments I expound in this dissertation, unfortunately again without taking them to their logical conclusion. He talks about the weight Augustine's "mission d'évangéliser" carried with the latter (21); and about the "programme d'action spirituelle supérieure, par I'enseignement á exercer avant tout de l'Écriture sainte" (22). He also quotes the Retractationes: "son unique but était, pour reprendre le mot des Révisions, de louer le Dieu juste et bon et de tourner vers lui l'esprit et Ie Coeur de I'homme" (22). The intention to strongly influence the reader, "to evangelise," "educate," or "turn" him or her "towards God" embodies exactly the aim of a protreptic text (see my discussion in chapter 2). Like Boyle (discussed above), Cayré ignores part of the implications of his own suggestion and focuses, like most scholars who interpret these words from the Retractationes, solely on Augustine's aim to glorify God. A very illuminating article comprising inter alia a perceptive analysis of Conf 9.4.7-11, the same passage I deem of great significance (and that I analyse in chapter 3), is Sieben's "Der Psalter und die Bekehrung der VOCES und AFFECTUS: Zu Augustinus, Conf IX.4.5 und X.33" (1977). Sieben concludes that Augustine's unique way of interweaving texts from the book of Psalms Psalmenzitate significance into the very fabric in Augustins of the text of his Confessions Konfessionen than many researchers (1955) so strikingly illustrates - as Knauer's - has greater (including Knauer) seem to realize. He argues, with Lausberg (1957), that the Confessions themselves are to be seen as a kind of "biographisch amplifiziertes Psalterium" (484). His conclusion (1977, 484) is based on the following: the fact that the passage from Conf 9 contains one of only two instances of direct quotation from the Psalter (which is however used extensively - though not through direct quotation throughout the Confessions and, significantly, in the very opening lines of the work) endows this passage with special significance. Sieben (see especially 486-487) sees 9.4.7-12 as the description of a further (and by implication final) conversion in the series of conversions presented in the Confessions, the conversion of the emotions ("Affekten"). His various descriptions of the effect of Ps 4 (and of the use of the psalter and the singing of psalms and hymns in general) come very close to ascribing a protreptic function to this passage and the Psalter: The Manichean listening to Augustine should become "ein anderer Mensch" (489); the Psalter has a "therapeutische Funktion" (494; here Sieben is quoting Athenasius whom 33 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Augustine refers to in 9.4.7-12); and it has the characteristic that it causes in the soul a "Verwandlung und Besserung" (494). As far as Sieben is concerned this effect is only worked on Augustine himself (while I contend in chapter 3 that it is aimed to affect Augustine's Manichean audience): Das explizite Zitat signalisiert einen naher zu bestimmenden Zusammenhang zwischen der literarischen Form der Konfessionen, d.h. ihrer Eigenart als biographisch amplifiziertem Psalterium und dem an dieser Stelle der Schrift berichteten lebensabschitt. M.a.W. die Form der Konfessionen ergibt sich in gewissem Sinne aus der hier erzahlten Etappe der Bekhrungsgeschichte (Sieben 1977,484). It is clear that Sieben ascribes the same central importance to Conf 9.4.7-11 as I do in my analysis of this section in chapter 3 below. Dilorenzo's article on the thirteenth book of the Confessions (1985) is mainly an explication of the theological content of the allegorical interpretation of Genesis Augustine presents here. He emphasizes that book 13 plays a key role in the whole of the Confessions, a fact that is closely related to Augustine's view of Genesis "as an allegorical key to scripture and spirituality" (Dilorenzo 1985, 75). The paradigmatic character assigned to book 13 in combination with Dilorenzo's insight that Augustine interprets creation history as salvation history and the days of creation as an allegorical portrayal of the re-creation or "spiritual conversion" of man (1985, 78) is of course a strong argument to support my thesis that the communicative function of not only the "autobiographical" section but also of the "exegetical" section of the Confessions is protreptic, i.e. to convert. I also agree heartily with his proposal that we should not view the Confessions as autobiography, that our conception of the Confessions as a "somewhat disjointed" autobiography, is the result of the fact that "we fix our attention too much upon what Augustine tells us of his life - life as we superficially understand it - though he repeatedly says that his life (vita) is God" (Dilorenzo 1985, 76). The alternative Dilorenzo proposes (that we see the Confessions as theology) is valid in the context of his arguments but of course does not present the modern reader with a different literary model on which to base his or her expectations of the contents and structure of the work." See also Mayer (1986). At this stage he still calls the Confessions an autobiography (35) and mentions its purpose only in passing (36). The way he describes the text does, however, already point towards his later thesis that it, in fact, has a protreptic purpose. 57 34 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Hawkins (1985) also takes for granted that the reader of the conversion narrative is supposed to imitate Augustine and be converted. What she hesitates about is whether the text of the Confessions is meant to function in this conversion in the way the Bible functions in other conversions described there. She comes to the conclusion that such an assumption by Augustine would constitute hubris (26) and that the reader is rather through the text of the Confessions directed to scripture: The reader does not relate to the Confessions as Augustine does to scripture; rather, it is in Alypius, who witnesses Augustine's conversion and who is himself converted, that we are to see ourselves. And Alypius is converted not by witnessing Augustine's conversion, but by mimetically taking to himself a scriptural passage (27). The fact remains that this interpretation ascribes a protreptic communicative function to the Confessions. I have chosen to defer the discussion Confessions de saint Augustin," of Fontaine's article, "Genres et styles dans les (1990) to this section of the literary survey because Fontaine's insights into the generic make-up of the Confessions provide a valuable corollary for the way in which I approach aspects of genre in the present study. Although there are places where it becomes clear that what Fontaine calls a genre does not conform strictly to my definition of the term (discussed in chapter 2) and that he uses the terms "genre" and "style" as if almost interchangeable, his argument that the Confessions constitutes, typical of literary practice and the aesthetic ideals of its time, a cento of genres (1990, 14), is wellpresented and convincing. Fontaine does not count the protreptic as one of the multitude of "genres" his sees reflected in the work but the sermon ("prédication"), the philosophical treaty ("traité philosophique") and especially the proselytising discourse ("discours prosélytique"), which he identifies (1990, 15) all share characteristics with the protreptic. The most important perspective that emerges from his study and that I want to emphasize here is the fact that, while the Confessions certainly displays characteristics of the ancient philosophical protreptic and in the present study I concentrate exclusively on these, this is by no means the only genre that forms part of the generic encoding that regulates communication in this text. Quillen's "Consentius as Reader of Augustine's Confessions" (1991) highlights the important role that Augustine ascribes to reading in the Confessions as well as the strong link between reading and conversion that is established there.58 More important support for my own study Quillen's insights about the importance of indications concerning the audience of the Confessions are valuable, but to define this audience she quotes almost exclusively passages form the later books 58 35 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za is her emphasis on the importance of the context within which the text functioned and the audience for whom Augustine wrote. One of her closing paragraphs is worth quoting: Consentius' reaction to the Confessions first dramatizes both the prominence given in that text to reading as an activity and suggests that Augustine's late antique audience was sensitive to this dimension correspondence between of his work. Consentius and Secondly, Augustine an analysis highlights the of the need for "contextualized" interpretations of Augustine's writings, that is, for interpretations that read Augustine's words as responses to real alternatives - Donatist, Pelagian, Manichaean - that existed when he lived and wrote (1991, 108). Miles, in her Desire and Delight (1992), although she also seems to assume the readers of the Confessions to be Augustine's "fellow-Christians," (1992, 42), or, as she puts it, "the sympathetic male colleague for whom Augustine wrote" (1992, 71) spells out, among other things, the propensity of the text to convert, making the not-yet-converted a more probable audience. The text (especially books 1-9) is in fact repeatedly described in terms that would be eminently suitable for describing a protreptic text. Miles refers to Augustine's ability to touch the reader: "strategies that enhance readers' vigorous engagement with the text" (40) or "the reader's response is solicited and provoked" (40); to his awareness of "the power of the written word for stimulating a reader to imitation of the narrated deeds" (26); and to conversion as an expected result of reading the Confessions: "Augustine expected reading to be a powerful, life-changing experience" (40).59 Clark formulates the aim of her Augustine: the Confessions (1993) as "to set the Confessions in the context of 'late antiquity'" (1993, vii). She does not deal with the problem of the unity or the structure of the work exclusively but covers a wide spectrum of topics in an appraisal that reflects one of the most sensitive readings of the text. The book as a whole, and especially her second chapter, "Genre: describing a life," contain some probing insights into, and particularly some very valid questions about the nature and purpose of the Confessions. This is, for example, one of the few books where at least the question as to who Augustine's readers may have been or how they may have been influenced by the text is formulated. of the Confessions where the audience is defined as fellow Christians, while it is my contention that this is not the sole, nor the most important, group the text targets (see chapter 5). Other phrases expressing to the same effect are, for example, the following: Augustine "expected his Confessions to act powerfully in the lives of his readers" (41); "Augustine provided his readers with the potentially transformative narrative of his conversion" (45); "it is the reader who must be persuaded, inspired to imitate, converted" (51); "his text must first create in the reader an intense, energetic, engrossing engagement ... it is now used to engage his reader in a dialogue in which the reader's life could be decisively altered" (66). 59 36 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Although the work remains an introduction in the sense that issues are indicated rather than treated in depth, we have once again an emphasis on Augustine's own constantly expressed "awareness of the activity of reading" (63) and the techniques Augustine uses to engage his readers: "he will not allow his readers to cast themselves as passive consumers of rhetoric" (66, see also for example 37,39,46,66-67). In Miles' (1997) review of Boulding's translation of the Confessions (1997) she considers "reading itself, especially Augustine's experience of reading and his explicit - even anxious attention to his own readers." Although Miles concentrates on the phenomenon of silent reading and is mainly concerned with what she calls the pleasure of reading, her recognition of the author's will to actively engage the reader through the text supports my interpretation that the ultimate required response is that of conversion. She emphasizes that Augustine saw reading as "nothing short of salvific" and that he expected his reader to equal his own intensely emotional engagement with what he or she is reading: conversation "The Confessions represents one side of an energetic in which the reader's response deliberately solicited. The reading pleasure that results form this conversation is ... is not merely the simple pleasure of hearing a good story, but the complex pleasures of strong feelings - sometimes violent disagreement, sometimes frustration and sometimes a euphoric recognition, produced by Augustine's text." 60 Cavadini's "Time and Ascent in Confessions XI" (1993) concludes unexpectedly with a strong argument that supports my identification of a protreptic purpose as an important aim for the writing of the Confessions. Cavadini argues that in his theorizing about time Augustine does not intend to write a treatise on time, but a section that is "at the service of the agenda of the Confessions as a whole, and that is to bring its readers to be able to confess ... " (Cavadini 1993,177). Chadwick's "On Re-reading the Confessions" (1994) has the expressed aim of finding information about Augustine's understanding of his priesthood, but does reveal sound insight into the work. Although he stresses the apologetic or self-defence aim of the Confessions in this article, as he does in his introduction to his translation (1991, ix), he also comes to the conclusion that the unusual amount of literary allusions to classical authors does speak for the fact that "there are latent in the Confessions elements both of self-vindication ... and also of protreptic exhortation to conversion" (1994, 152). Quotations from Miles (1997) all come from the opening sections of the electronic version of Miles' review article where no page numbers are indicated. 60 37 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Keevak's "Reading (and Conversion in) Augustine's with the genre or communicative Confessions" (1995) is not concerned purpose of the work, but his examination of the question "whether the reader too is meant to convert" pertains directly to the communicative purpose of the Confessions. He is also concerned throughout with the audience the conversion narrative is addressed to, e.g. "I would argue that the text has not really been understood precisely in terms of its relationship to the sorts of community to which it is addressed, since the speaker's relationship to the reader as well as to others within the text is extremely subtle and complex" (1995, 257-258), and "on whom, if anybody, will the Confessions really have its intended effect?" (258). In his examination of the intricate relationships between speaker and intended reader Keevak highlights the strong emphasis on the activity of reading in the Confessions. Like Hawkins, whom he quotes in this regard, Keevak also muses on the problem of how the text of the Confessions (in comparison to the text of the Bible) is meant to function in the conversion towards which it urges the reader and comes to the conclusion: This is only to claim that it is not simply a matter of reading the Confessions as Augustine, Alypius, or Victorinus read (or Anthony hears) the Bible ... but that the text, in the very fact that it so incessantly thematizes the problem of reading itself, cannot help but condone or perhaps even encourage the tendency to read the text as itself a kind of revealed scripture (267). However the detail is interpreted, it is abundantly clear that Keevak's arguments constitute very strong support for my thesis that the communicative aim of the Confessions is to convert its reader, i.e. a protreptic aim. In the following discussions I focus more on what research has proposed up to now concerning the audience of the Confessions, but, as I remarked at the outset of this section, matters of audience Confessions and communicative purpose are difficult to separate. That the is aimed at a human audience in spite of its prayer stance of addressing only God throughout, is commonly accepted in scholarship. There are surprisingly few studies, however, that try to come to grips with what we can detect in the text about this audience: are there indications of an awareness of the audience, apart from the (delayed) explicit reference in 2.3.5 (cui narro haec? .. , generi humano ... ")? Are there any clues as to what this audience may be like, of specifically who they may be? These are the questions that I treat in chapter 5 and that have, in my opinion, not received their rightful place in scholarship on the Confessions up to now. 38 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za From the scattered references to the audience of the Confessions that I have been able to find, it becomes clear that some dissention exists: while some postulate the Donatists as the intended audience (by saying that the work is meant to refute Donatist accusations)" and others the Neo-Platonist or the Manicheans, a large number of scholars seem to assume (on the basis of references in the last four books) that Augustine's fellow-Christians are the most probable human audience. Cayré (1953, 20) feels, for example, like many other authors, that Augustine never really loses sight of his potential Manichean reader: "Quelle occasion surtout d'exercer un apostolat fécond auprés des égarés de la secte manichéenne, ceux qu'il y avait entrainés lui-même, et les autres assez nombreux alors en Afrique!" But, almost in the same breath, he asserts that Augustine Mohrmann speaks primarily to his Christian brothers. (1958, 372) and Brown (1967, 160) argue that the intended audience were Augustine's fellow-Christians, while Brown does allow for some attention to other groups: The Confessions was a book for the servi Dei ... it is a classic document of the tastes of a group of highly sophisticated men, the spiritales ... It told such men just what they wanted to know about - the course of a notable conversion ... It even contained moving appeals to the men who might join this new elite: to the austere Manichee and the pagan Platonist. But there are researchers that have pointed to the prominence of adherents of Manicheism as a part of the intended audience of the Confessions. Already in the 1930's three articles argue for the significance Allgeier's suggestions of the presence of so many Manichean in his "Der Einfluss des Manicháismus themes in the work. auf die exegetische Fragestellung bei Augustin" (1930) support both my argument for seeing protreptic intent as one of the communicative is to an important purposes of the Confessions and my argument that this protreptic degree aimed at the Manicheans. He argues that Augustine's first exegetical endeavours, following shortly after his conversion, were focussed on the creation narrative in Genesis and partly had the aim to justify his conversion to his erstwhile friends or even to win them over to Christianity. He also points to the fact that Augustine's preoccupation with the creation story has Manichean origins. Perier (1931), advanced the thesis that the unity of the Confessions was to be sought among other things in the anti-Manichean content of the autobiographical books as well as in the exegetical section, while Stiglmayr (1932), in his arguments to support his thesis that the work is meant as a sacrifice to God, portrays his awareness of the how focussed on his 61 See for example Wundt (1923), discussed above. 39 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za audience Augustine is. He notes that Augustine aims at two different groups (390) that can be described as the converted and the not-yet-converted. He feels that in book 10 the audience is the friends whom he sees as the instigators of this book (with their request that Augustine should give an account of his present state) in contrast to the less friendly, less well-known reader envisaged in the first nine books (395). But these remain isolated voices at an early stage of research on the Confessions and their ideas have not become part of mainstream thinking. In 1967 Hadot's short article, "Quelques themes fondamentaux des Confessions de saint Augustin," argues for the importance of a Manichean perspective on Augustine's insistence on sin in the Confessions. He claims (1967, 113) that Augustine is at pains to affirm the identity between the sinful self and the converted self, to emphasize that responsibility for sin lies with the individual, and that repentance is necessary, all with a view to contradicting Manichean ideas on these matters. Also Augustine's use of the imagery surrounding a movement from darkness to light Hadot interprets as formulated to counter Manichean ideas of separate regions of darkness and light. Bammel's article, "Pauline exegesis, Manicheism and philosophy in the early Augustine" (1993), supplies another argument for taking the use of Manichean categories of thought more seriously when they appear in the Confessions. She shows that exegesis of the writings of Paul was an important part of Manichean thinking and that in his reading of Paul in the Garden at Milan, following his dramatic reaction to the "discovery" of Neo-Platonism as it does, "Augustine was not merely combining Platonist insights with a return to his childhood religion, he was also replacing his earlier Manichaean reading of Paul with a new 'Platonising' understanding" (1993, 1). Bammel's arguments also imply that the presence of so much Manichean material in the Confessions is far from self-explanatory. that the first versions of Augustine's contain a significant conversion amount of anti-Manichean (in the Cassiciacum She points out dialogues) do not material but rather represent this same conversion in terms that aim to refute the Academic position (1993, 11). The implications are clear: the conversion is not inexorably tied up with Manicheism in Augustine's memory. It can be told in different ways to reach different audiences, to counter different sets of belief and if (anti-) Manichean ideas permeate the conversion narrative in the Confessions this has significant implications for how the intended audience of this work is to be seen. Babcock's observation in his "Augustine and the Spirituality of Desire" (1995) offers a reading of book 8 that emphasizes the fact that here Augustine "finally and definitively displaces his own earlier Manichaean anthropology and replaces it with a new, anti-Manichaean anthropology that is distinctively his own" (1995, 181). As I have indicated in my discussion 40 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za of Bammei (above): if we shift our focus from Augustine to his audience and see the purpose of his narrative as less narcissistic and more protreptic in nature, Babcock's words could be reformulated to indicate that Augustine is instructing specifically a Manichean reader on how to replace and earlier (faulty) anthropology with an improved (Catholic) one. A recent article that occupies itself among other things with the audience of the Confessions is Asher's "The Dangerous Fruit of Augustine's Confessions" (1998). Especially the first part of the article focuses on Augustine's attention" (1998, 229) and adduces preoccupation with "the nature of his audience's sermons where Augustine explicitly expresses his concern with reaching his audience. Asher is mostly concerned with the risk that Augustine is taking in writing about himself, "a work that seems to court ... illicit attentions from its audience inasmuch as 'what is said' refers to the 'person who is saying it'" (1998, 230). He interprets the significance of the first explicit acknowledgement of the Confessions' human audience for the interpretation of the narrative of the pear theft, the narrative into which it is introduced abruptly and almost illogically, and comes to the conclusion that this episode is a parody of the ascetic life, and more importantly, of the writing of the Confessions: "The act of confession itself is the needful beneficiary of this parodic gesture: Augustine suggests what this book is by showing us what it is not, and what it is not is what it most runs the risk of resembling - namely, a prideful exhibition of ascetic fortitude and personal piety" (Asher 1998, 240). Asher's arguments also indirectly support my view of the Manicheans being an important segment of the intended audience of the Confessions when he points out (1998, 238) that the gratuitous nature of the theft seems at first to support the Manichean view of evil as a force "as fully autonomous as God." This impression is then undermined by Augustine's suggestion that "divine omnipotence is the theft's proximate model" (Asher 1998, 239). It is clear that specifically a Manichean audience would have been gripped by the implications of Augustine's telling of this episode, especially at their first surmise that he might be playing into their hands by his description of the gratuitous nature of the theft. Augustine's eventual refutation of this expectation would have been all the more marked to a Manichean reader. It could conceivably even be a formal working out of an argument on sins of a similar nature that had been a point of discussion between him and the Manicheans. I agree with Asher that the pear theft and other episodes in the Confessions are expressions of Augustine's concern with the risks attached to writing his own life story. My analysis goes one step further and says that Augustine's indications of a protreptic purpose for the work is a powerful motivation for taking this risk. I end this section with a preliminary reference to the work of Van Oort who has done a great deal of work on Manichean texts, especially the Cologne Mani Codex. His arguments are 41 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za quoted and discussed in full in the course of my own analyses in chapters 3 to 5 below. Van Dort's research (especially the articles of 1997 and 2002) is probably at the moment the most important impetus towards a new appreciation of the importance of the Manichean element in the Confessions for our reading of the whole.62 His article on the anti-Manichean content of books 1-3 of the Confessions (1997) advances convincing arguments for seeing the very opening words of the text as containing Manichean allusions. Those of us steeped in Vergil's masterful techniques of foreshadowing will see this as very significant indeed. Apart from this, the 1997 article, together with Van Dort's inaugural lecture (2002), show how many sections of the Confessions appear in a completely different light when they are compared to the growing number of Manichean texts that are being made available as scholarly work on the finds of the previous century are published. The overall effect of this movement and especially Van Dort's work, is an increased awareness that the Confessions targets a Manichean audience to a much greater extent than many scholars have believed up to now. For an overview of the work on Manichean texts see Ries (1963, 201-215) and Van Oort (1996,724 and 39). 62 42 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za CHAPTER 2: THE CONFESSIONS AND ITS FIRST READERS: GENRE AND AUDIENCE The overarching purpose of chapter 2 is to consider a number of factors that may have influenced the way in which Augustine's first readers experienced the Confessions. To do this I take a preliminary look at the two aspects this dissertation is about: the genre and the audience of the Confessions. I start with an attempt to simplify the difficult task of unraveling the generic codes embedded in an ancient text by taking a preliminary look at the general principles of genre perpetuation (2.1.1) and the difficulties of pinpointing the protreptic genre th in particular (2.1.2). Then I examine some respects in which literary practice in the 4 AD may have influenced the generic features of the Confessions, century and thus the generic expectations of its readers (2.1.3). Although the primary focus is on the protreptic features of the work, its literary antecedents include works with a variety of generic characteristics. The last part of the discussion of matters pertaining to genre (2.1.4) evaluates the change in perspective on the unity of the work this brings about. Chapter 2.2 takes a cursory look at the issue of intended audience (2.2.1) and also presents the background information necessary to follow the arguments in chapters 3 and 5 about the Manicheans (2.2.2). 43 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za 2.1 The Genre of the Confessions 2.1.1 Genre and Communicative Purpose a. Communicative Problems and Solutions purpose is an important - perhaps the most important - aspect of genre, which is a highly problematical category. Although this study does not aim to make a final judgment on the genre of Augustine's Confessions it wants to show that a researcher cannot avoid getting involved with matters pertaining to genre for two reasons. First, what a text communicates to its readers, is always to some extent generically encoded, as Chamberlain and Thompson (1998, 1) emphasize: "Any communication has to use shared conventions not only of language itself but also the more complex expectations expected within a given context and type of communication" preconceived ideas about genre cannot but decisively of 'genre': of the forms (my emphasis); secondly, influence the whole process -of analysis: "The determination of the genre of a writing has import for its overall interpretation and may predispose an interpreter to concentrate on particular elements in the work and to ignore other possibly more weighty and extensive textual evidence" (Guerra 1995, 13). Because the Confessions is such a multidimensional work the danger is especially great in this case that the interpreter may find lots of evidence to prove her point while important aspects of presupposition the work still remain uncovered and unaccounted for. Especially the of many scholars (based on the content of books 1-10) that the work must belong to the genre of autobiography is closely scrutinized. The term genre is often perceived as a problematic one,' more so (but probably not rightfully so) within the sphere of modern literary theory than in that of the discourse on classical literature." The greater skepticism that modern literary theory shows towards the term has fortunately also given rise to some very precise and illuminating discussions of it, which can be used fruitfully by scholars of ancient literature. For even among classicists, where the 1 For an incisive recent discussion of the problems associated Chamberlain and Thompson 1998, 1-22. with genre, see the Introduction to See e.g. Swales 1990, 33-58, for the problems surrounding the modern use of the term genre, the different viewpoints of different research communities and a working definition of the term. Another good overview of the problems and a scientifically sound treatment is found in Miller's chapter "De Generibus disputandum est" (1994, 37-51). 2 44 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za usefulness of studying the genre of ancient works is readily agreed upon, the terminology and process are far from problem-free. The problematic nature of genre arises inter alia from the fact that both the generic devices used by the author and the generic expectations brought to the text by the reader function on a partly subconscious level (Fowler 1982, 25). This is borne out by the fact that the science of ancient rhetoric does not treat generic matters, though the relatively late treatises on genre testify that it has been in operation and an important creator of meaning at least since the days of Homer. The negative connotations modern literary scholars associate with the term genre mostly concern the perception that it is something that prescribes to and restricts the writer, or that it is a tool used by the analyst simply to classify and usually to overschernatize." Also the association of the term genre with the notion of a hierarchic canon of literature makes it suspect. I believe, like many scholars of ancient literary works, that the category of genre and the accompanying terminology can be a useful tool in the process of analysis. The operation of generic principles, during the creation of the work, can be seen, not as inhibiting the author, but as a "positive support ... (that) offer room, as one might say, for him to write in - a habitation of mediated definiteness; a proportioned mental space; a literary matrix by which to order his experience during composition" (Fowler 1982, 31). Also the use of generic categories in the process of analysis need not be aimed at classifying, but can be employed fruitfully towards a better understanding of how generic principles create meaning in the literary work. What is more, in the case of a modern reader reading an ancient text the conventions of writing and reading have changed so profoundly that one cannot assume that communication based on generic principles will function on a subconscious level. Above I have implied that scholars of ancient literature do not usually share the negative perceptions concerning genre and generic categories that are prevalent in the field of modern literature. But in the field of ancient literature (like in that of modern literature) problems arise from terminological inaccuracies. The term genre is often used to refer to different levels of categorization, without any indication that the speaker or writer is aware of the imprecision involved. Cairns' work, Generic Composition in Greek and Roman Poetry 1972, makes a useful contribution to the study of specific ancient genres and addresses this problem: "Genres in this sense are not classifications of literature in terms of form as are Fowler (1982, 37-38) points out the erroneous nature of the idea that genre is meant to provide a means of classification. 3 45 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za epic, lyric, elegy, or epistle, but classifications in terms of content; for example propemptikon (the farewell to the departing traveller), and komas ... (the song and actions of a lover who is usually excluded)" (Cairns 1972, 6). In the light of the terminological explanations below, it will appear that what he calls content (a farewell or a petition by an excluded lover) is actually better described by a term like "communication situation" or "communicative purpose." Nevertheless, in making this his criterion for distinguishing one genre from another, Cairns is close to what modern theories of genre have found (as I discuss in more detail below). The magisterial works of Misch (1950) and Courcelle (1963) offer further illustration of the problems surrounding the terminology of genre. Misch refers to "the autobiographical genre" when what he speaks of is in fact the autobiographical content of works that belong primarily or at least partly to other qenres." Similarly Courcelle 1963 speaks of autobiography autobiographical and antecedents for the Confessions without referring to the fact that calling the Confessions as a whole an autobiography makes it difficult to account for the presence of the last three or four books of the work, and without giving any attention to the generic features of the works he sees as the "autobiographical" antecedents for the Confessions. Of course, as far as ancient (auto)biography (both Roman and Greek) is concerned, it was always difficult to distinguish a clearly delineated genre from other genres. The discussion of the literary antecedents of the Confessions in chapter 2.3 below illustrates how Pelling's statements (1996, 241) about Greek biography holds true for most of ancient biography and autobiography: "One should not think of a single 'biographical genre' with acknowledged conventions, but rather of a complicated picture of overlapping traditions, embracing works of varying form, style, length, and truthfulness." Another problem closely related to the one above is the (often tacit) assumption as to what constitutes a genre. Cairn's claim (1972, 6) that "every genre can be thought of as having primary or logically necessary elements which in combination distinguish that genre from every other genre," is open to criticism, because in practice "very few necessary elements exist" (Fowler 1982, 39). The assumption that such necessary elements should be found is also at the basis of Jordan's (1986, 328) exasperation when he comes to the conclusion: "It is plain that protreptic cannot be a genre in the ordinary poetic sense, that is, as dictating a certain combination of form, diction, and subject-matter." Jordan turns eventually to what he sees as the most promising solution to finding a definition, namely "to consider the 'rhetorical situation' of the protreptic" (1986, 330). Like Cairns' definition this correlates well with the 4 See also Lehmann 1988, 1 on this point. 46 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za findings of in-depth studies by modern literary theorists showing that "rhetorical situation," which I will use as a synonym for "communication situation" or "communicative purpose," is one of the best indicators of the genre of a literary work (see discussion below). Thus, communicative purpose is what this study focuses on when it analyzes the protreptic purpose of the Confessions. But I go into the analysis of the protreptic elements of the work, knowing full well that what will have to be judged in the final instance of this analysis, like in the case of a study of the autobiographical elements, is: how representative of the intentions of the work as a whole are its protreptic elements?" It should be clear, however, that an analysis starting out from different assumptions concerning the genre of the Confessions would at the very least have a chance of bringing some new perspectives into the debate on the purpose and meaning of the whole. b. A Definition of Genre The definition of genre that I found most useful for my purposes here is that of Swales (1990). His aim is to describe modern genres, and the definition contains concepts that need to be explained against the background of modern literary or linguistic theory. For these reasons it may seem overly technical at this stage, but it will become clear as the discussion goes on that, even without going into detailed descriptions of all the terms, his definition is useful for speaking about ancient genres and can be employed to formulate aspects of the analysis of ancient works that are often passed over in silence. Also, most valuably, it can throw light on the problem of the elements "necessary" to constitute a genre. I emphasize the . aspects of the definition most important for my immediate purposes and give it in full (up to a point) though not all parts are immediately relevant for the present study: A genre comprises a class of communicative events, the members of which share some set of communicative purposes. These purposes are recognized by the expert members of the parent discourse community and thereby constitute the rationale for the genre. This rationale shapes the schematic structure of the discourse influences and constrains choice of content and style. Communicative and purpose is both a privileged criterion and one that operates to keep the scope of a genre as here conceived narrowly focused on comparable rhetorical action. In addition to purpose, Feldmann, whom I follow in examining the protreptic characteristics of the Confessions, seems, in 1988, to have been cautioned to formulating his suggestion more carefully, calling the Confessions "(einen) Text mit der Tendenz zur Gattung des Protreptikos" (1988, 44). But in the 1994 article in Augustinus Lexicon he no longer shows any of these inhibitions. 5 47 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za exemplars of a genre exhibit various patterns of similarity in terms of structure, style, content and intended audience (Swales 1990, 58). The most important aspect of this definition for my analysis of the Confessions as a protreptic is its emphasis on communicative purpose. This is defined as a privileged criterion for identifying specific genres, which reinforces my hypothesis that the Confessions can be called a protreptic on the basis of its purpose to convert, even though it may be difficult to isolate structural or other elements typical of protreptic antecedents. The category of communicative in this work or its protreptic purpose is not completely non-problematical, though, and Swales (1990, 47) acknowledges that for some genres "purpose is unsuited as a primary criterion." Nevertheless, the term communicative purpose is clearly understandable and can be used without further circumscription. Having said all this, I do not pretend that the purpose of a genre is an easily demonstrable feature. It demands a very clear understanding of the text and all its literary subtleties, as well as a firm grasp of the world within which it functioned. Swales (1990, 46), however, counters the objection of the difficulty of pinpointing communicative advantages of the open-minded purpose by stressing the approach to a literary work this forces the interpreter to adopt, and the protection the process offers "against a facile classification based on stylistic features and inherited beliefs." This is exactly what I am in search of in my analysis of the Confessions. The last part of Swales' definition that is important for my analysis of the protreptic features of the Confessions, is the reference to structure, style and content on the one hand, and intended audience on the other hand (the latter I discuss under 2.2.1 on intended audience). Jordan (1986) experiences great difficulties in trying to formulate which elements of structure, style or content are constitutive for defining a work as a protreptic. This does not mean that there are not many features that occur regularly in many examples of protreptic. means that it is difficult to award to anyone It only of these features - apart from the purpose to convert - the status of a "necessary" element without which a work cannot be called a protreptic. Elements of structure, style and content may, however, contribute to the prototypical nature of certain texts in a given genre. Here Swales' remarks (1990, 49-52), based on the work of Eleanor Rosch on the prototype approach to categories (which Swales makes applicable also to genres), are particularly helpful. The point of departure of this approach is, in short, the following. Empirical tests have proved that often some exemplars of a specific category are generally perceived to be more typical of the category than others. These exemplars or 48 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za members are then called prototypes. The properties of any given category can be divided into privileged and "other" properties. While privileged properties are usually (but not always) necessary to constitute the category, the presence of the other properties contributes to how prototypical the exemplar of the category is perceived to be." This terminology possible the following useful statement about genre: "[C]ommunicative makes purpose has been nominated as the privileged property of a genre. Other properties, such as form, structure and audience expectations operate to identify the extent to which an exemplar is prototypical of a particular genre" (Swales 1990, 52). Thus, for example, the Confessions could be described as possessing protreptic features if it could be shown that its communicative purpose (or one of its communicative purposes) is to convert.' But elements of structure, style, or content do not have to be left out of the equation. A study of protreptic antecedents might yield elements that also have a high "probability for being included" in the genre (Swales 1990, 52), even though they are not necessary elements. c. The Fluid Nature of Genre I have implied that genre is a highly elusive category. One of the causes for this elusiveness is the way in which genre is perpetuated, which has the effect that each work is to a certain extent sui generis, that is, unique in the way in which it embodies generic principles. Fowler's study (1982, 11, 20, 23) teems with words and phrases like "mutability," "active modulation," "instability," and "continuously undergoing metamorphosis" to describe the process of genre perpetuation, while Tolbert (1989, 50) uses the term "fluid process." This means in fact that every genre is constantly changing. What each work uses and does not use from its antecedent examples and how it mixes and modifies these elements is what makes it unique. And this "active modulation ... communicates, ... it probably has a communicative value far greater than we can ever be aware of' (Fowler 1982, 20). The mixture of or cross fertilization between genres referred to above was also detected in modern Chamberlain and Thompson (1998, 11): "Not only can autobiography autobiography by itself be broken down into a series of genres, but each of them is likely to draw on other genres: both in the sense of major genres, and also of generic motifs and devices." Here Swales (1990, 49-52) opts for Amstrong's family resemblance approach. 6 Swales (1990,47) purposes." 7 combination of the prototype approach with the points out that it is "not uncommon to find genres that have 49 sets of communicative Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za The generally held opinion in scholarship on the Confessions - at least into the second half of the previous century" - that the Confessions is sui generis in ancient literature, has not taken into account the fact that the Confessions is probably not more sui generis than most other literary works. That is, the generic makeup of the work is unique, but this does not mean that it does not have literary antecedents. Why then has the genre of the Confessions been so particularly elusive? I am convinced that at least a part of the answer lies in the fact that its author used generic principles in a highly creative way, and "the less original a work the more likely it (is) to fit comfortably into a genre category, while the greatest creative works (defy) such easy formal categorization" (Chamberlain and Thompson 1998, 3). Once one starts to look at the Confessions in the light of these observations about genre and start looking for literary antecedents, a multitude of themes, topoi, strategies, attitudes and allusions from a highly diverse range of antecedent genres leap into the eye. Courcelle (1963) has proved this in his survey of the antecedents for autobiographical elements in the Confessions (see discussion below). My own reading on the characteristics of the protreptic has only served to multiply the possible antecedents for numerous elements in the Confessions. 2.1.2 The Protreptic Genre a. Problems and Solutions The following section is a cursory treatment of the nature and development of the ancient 'Aóy05 rrpoTpETTTlKÓ5with special emphasis on its manifestations in Late Antiquity and in Christian literature, in order to provide a background and define the terminology needed for the present analysis of the Confessions. Some of the problems concerning the description of the protreptic genre have already been mentioned, where they were indicated as aspects of the bigger problems concerning genre in general. It has been shown that identifying "necessary" elements of structure, style or content that are constitutive of any given genre, is always problematic for all genres. In the case of the Courcelle (1963) still has to prove that literary antecedents for the Confessions exist and Brown (1967, 160) maintains: "No other member of this group of servi Dei, however, wrote a book that even remotely resembles the Confessions." He is correct of course, but this and statements like "Augustine ... found himself with an audience used to intimate biography, and so, ripe for autobiography" (159), or "the astounding novelty of the book he was writing" (160) indicate his belief that the Confessions is more unique than I would like to deem it. O'Donnell (1985, 83) states categorically: "The work is sui 8 generis." 50 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za protreptic Jordan finds this almost impossible. There is no consistency of form or structure, no proper lex operis for the protreptic (Jordan 1986, 328). Jordan (1986, 329-333), guided by the practicalities of the task of defining the protreptic genre, therefore opts for communicative purpose (in this case the intention to convert) as the only stable element on the basis of which to define a large body of diverse works as protreptics. His method is validated by the findings of theoretically oriented modern studies of genre, like Swales, who identify communicative purpose as the privileged criterion for characterizing the genre of most texts. It is my contention that it is the particular character of the communicative purpose of the protreptic that causes an even greater diversity in the content of protreptic texts and that is also responsible for the lack of pattern in the structural and stylistic features of extant examples of the qenre." If the main aim of a protreptic is to decisively influence nothing less than the complete way of life (as we shall see below) of a specific individual or individuals, group or groups, it follows that the whole fabric of the protreptic must be very finely and very specifically tuned to reach that audience in the most effective way possible. This means that the contents, the tone, the strategies of the author will depend totally on the kind of audience he or she envisages, which of course is an infinitely variable factor, and the relationship between the author and this audience, which can also vary. It must be clear that the psychological dynamics in action between text and audience are very difficult for a non-privileged communication member of the discourse community to grasp. If this took place more than a millennium and a half ago, the analysis becomes a daunting prospect. The process involves a very careful gathering of information from the text itself but also from other texts that reflect the world (albeit in part) within which this text operated. In the case of the Confessions it means trying to identify probable or possible audiences through gathering as much information as possible about the world Augustine lived in, from any available sources. It implies a careful reading of the Confessions for explicit and implicit references to the audience as well as a sound grasp of Augustine's other works, his general state of mind, his preoccupations, and the stage his "spiritual development" has reached, at the time of writing the Confessions. I do not claim to be able to treat the matter exhaustively in this dissertation but only to use the large body of already existing scholarship responsibly and to read the Confessions carefully. Jordan (1986, 329) also mentions this possibility in passing but argues more strongly for seeing the cause for the variety in "the persistent conflicts among schools about the ends of philosophic teaching." 9 51 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za While communicative purpose is of primary importance for defining the Confessions as a protreptic, this analysis may be complemented by a study of other characteristic features of the genre. A selection and description of some topoi judged to be characteristic enough of specifically the protreptic genre is made below. This forms the basis for identifying certain features of the Confessions as protreptic features - even though none of these features are "necessary" elements for the protreptic genre. The positive side of this procedure is that I can focus only on what is paralleled in the Confessions. But the dangers of such a procedure are also apparent: what might appear to be antecedents for protreptic elements in the Confessions because of its presence in earlier examples of protreptic, may be so well represented in other kinds of literature that taking these elements to be an indication that the work belongs to the protreptic genre may be misleading. So even in the formulation of these characteristics of the content the communication situation of the protreptic has to be kept in mind constantly and elements judged according to their aptness for fulfilling protreptic lntentlons." Two additional problems complicating the description of the protreptic genre concern the state of transmission of ancient texts: First, the two most famous works in this genre (Aristotle's Protreptikos and Ciceros's Hortensius) have not survived and second, none of the extant treatises on rhetoric treats the genre of the protreptic in any detail." This last fact means that the study of protreptic has to be deductive (Aune 1991, 96), but it is complicated by the first. It is to be assumed that it is impossible to study the works that are to the highest degree prototypical of the genre, and also to positively establish a direct line of imitation between these works and Augustine's Conteesionsï? This situation is however counterbalanced by the extremely varied character of extant protreptic examples, which provides grounds to assume that if Aristotle's Protreptikos and Cicero's Hortensius were extant, it would still not be easy to identify clear patterns of structure and content for the protreptic genre. The next issue that has to be touched upon cursorily is the relation between Early Christianity and (pagan) ancient philosophy. The reader will note that, firstly, I speak of Jordan (1986, 318) too expresses this conviction: "no rhetorical analysis could work by comparing rhetorical devices from different philosophical protreptics without considering first the end in each." 10 11 See Jordan 1986 (314-318) for a survey of the sources. 12 The Hortensius is known to have been strongly influenced by Aristotle's Protreptikos. It also changed the course of Augustine's life - as is documented in the Confessions - and could conceivably have had an impact on the generic characteristics of this work (more about this in chapter 4). 52 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za "conversion" as the aim of ancient philosophical protreptics and Christian protreptics alike and, secondly, that I take Jordan's findings (1986) to be wholly relevant for the discussion of protreptic elements in a thoroughly Christian text, while he concentrates exclusively on "Ancient Philosophic Protreptic." Is it legitimate to assume such direct parallels between the world of philosophy, where the protreptic originated, and Augustine's world of religion? The answer is easy: we have clear evidence that this is no longer even an issue by the time Augustine writes his Confessions. By the fourth century AD the protreptic is one of the genres that have already been appropriated and modified by Christian writers to suit their own purposes, as is manifest in the prominent example of Clemens of Alexandria's Protrepticus (also called Cohorlatio ad Graecas). Further, membership of any school of ancient philosophy, the active proselytizing of these schools (done through protreptics) and even conversion to philosophy in general or to a particular school of philosophy was in many respects akin to religious practice today (Nock 1933). Augustine's own conversion to Catholic Christianity followed the route of his first being converted to the search for wisdom, i.e. the practice of philosophy, by Cicero's philosophical protreptic and eventually to Christianity itself through being converted to the philosophy of neo-Platonism. I end this section on the problems related to reading a text, and specifically the Confessions, as a protreptic, with a quick look at Feldmann's procedures (1994,1134-1193) the Confessions for defining as a Protreptic. First, Feldmann does not give a definition of the term protreptic or explicitly state his presuppositions, but seems to proceed from the general and broad - and perfectly valid - definition of the protreptic as a work designed to convert its readers. His classification of the Confessions as a protreptic is thus done mainly on the grounds of its contents and the theological purpose (thus also the communicative purpose) he deduces from them. Feldmann does refer to one prominent stylistic feature of the Confessions, which is also important for my analysis, namely the use of the word excitare and its derivatives, which, he points out, corresponds to the Greek rrpoTpÉTTEIVand belongs to the characteristic vocabulary of the (philosophical) protreptic. But apart from this he does not go into any detail - the "genre" of his publication prohibits this - of the specifics of the protreptic as a literary genre and its characteristics or development and he does not theorize about his own method of defining the Confessions as a protreptic. That his modus operandi must differ from the one I intend to use in this dissertation is to be expected, because where I work from a literary point of view in order to understand the Confessions as a literary work, Feldmann's interest lies in the theological characteristics and functions of the work. 53 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za b. Definitions: Protrepsis and Paraenesis Various definitions for the term protreptic are in circulation, expressing some degree of consensus, at least as far as the communication situation of the genre is concerned. I quote four definitions (for the different perspectives they provide) from the work of authors that have played an important part in shaping my insights into the dynamics of this genre. Discussion of the definitions follows afterwards. First, two perspectives from antiquity: Malherbe (1986, 122) summarizes and translates Epictetus' view of protrepsis: "Together with refutation or reproof, which exposes the human condition ... and teaching, protrepsis ... reveals the inner inconsistency in the philosopher's hearers and brings them to conversion." Jordan (1986, 317) quotes Stobaeus' discussion taken from Philo of Larissa, which I include because of its use of medical imagery that is important for the discussions below: "As the physician both meets the causes of illness and aids what produces health, so the philosopher must remove what begets false opinion and shore up healthy thought." The next definition, the first of two modern examples, is from the important article, "Romans as a Logos Protreptikos in the Context of Ancient Religious and Philosophical Propaganda," by David Aune (1991, 91-124) and although it refers specifically to the spoken ancestor of the written protreptic, the aims and characteristics it expresses are the same for both versions, spoken and written: The ')..óyo5 rrpoTpSTTTIKÓ5, or 'speech of exhortation', is a lecture intended to win converts and attract young people to a particular way of life ... by exposing the errors of alternative ways of living by demonstrating the truth claims of a particular philosophical tradition over its competitors (Aune 1991, 91). conclude with Jordan's definition (1986, 331) because his is the most serious recent attempt to arrive at a well-argued definition using modern terminology: The unity of the protreptic genre could be provided, then, by the recurring situation of trying to produce a certain volitional or cognitive state in the hearer at the moment of decision about a way-of-life. The first two perspectives, while illustrating the same focus on conversion than the other examples, concentrate on the inner life of the audience. Their authors assume that if the hearer can be brought to real self-knowledge, i.e. knowledge of the sickness of his soul, this should be enough to motivate him to change. 54 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za David Aune's description of the protreptic brings to the fore what is implicit in the first two definitions: that apart from showing the audience that they are in need of help, the merits of the recommended way of life must be presented together with a refutation of the claims of rival groups that they represent the best modus vivendi. Jordan's definition arises from his quest for finding a unifying principle for defining the protreptic genre and therefore limits itself 13 to a scientific description of the communicative purpose of the genre. The term paraenesis (Greek rrcpcivscnc) is more problematic in the sense that its meaning overlaps with that of the term protrepsis but is not exactly the same. What is more, the terms paraenesis and protreptic are often used rather loosely and interchangeably by both ancient sources and modern scholars of the protreptic. I will not go into all the technical details of the differences between the two terms here. The only matter of concern for the present purposes is the nature of the audience each was aimed at. Ferguson's definition (1993, 302) shows the resemblances between protrepsis and paraenesis while it also indicates a distinction often made as far as audience is concerned: Paraenesis is a broader term [than protrepsis] for moral exhortation to follow a given course of action or to abstain encouragement and dissuasion. from a contrary Rules behavior. of conduct are It thus consisted prominent. of Paraenesis presupposed some positive relationship between the parties (my emphasis). It is clear that there is no essential difference between this definition and those of protreptic above, except for the provision that a positive relationship between speaker and addressee, i.e. a willingness on the part of the addressee to be exhorted to implement the specific point of view, already exists in the case of paraenesis. But, although the definitions of protreptic above does not indicate this, most authors on the protreptic genre agree that those who were already converted (already in a positive relationship with the speaker) formed a part of the audience of the protreptic, even though it is primarily aimed at converting the not-yet- converted. Jordan (1986, 313) offers a clear perspective on the problem and its history: If it is true that paraenesis often consists of traditional moral precepts taught to students who ought already to have heard them, it is also true that such moral instruction frequently did serve as the call to philosophy. In this larger sense, paraenesis is linked to protreptic already with Plato. 13 It is clear from the last definition that the term exhortation (Latin exhortatio, exhortan) is used as a direct equivalent of the term protreptic (Greek TTpOTpÉ\jJ15, TTPOTPETTTIKÓ5, TTpOTpÉTTEIV). 55 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Guerra (1995, 3) also summarizes Hartlich's suggestions (1889) about the purpose of GrecoRoman protreptic as follows: Protreptics could serve either of two purposes: particular profession ... (1) to urge others to take up a or (2) to encourage students to progress further in their chosen disciplines (my emphasis). Formulated differently: protreptic aims to change both the world view and the conduct of the addressee, while paraenetic presupposes a shared world view and aims only at improving the conduct of its audience. The possibility of a protreptic being directed at both the not-yet-converted and the converted alike is important for my reading of the Confessions. While it is my own conviction and that of scholars like Van Dart (1997) and Joubert (1992) that the Manicheans (the not-yet- converted) constitute an important part of the intended audience of the work, numerous other studies, as I have shown above, simply take for granted that the intended audience primarily the already-converted, Augustine's fellow-Christians. below, I often use the term protreptic-paraenetic Therefore, is in the analyses and refer to shifts from the protreptic to the paraenetic side of the scale in order to describe the devices employed in Confessions. At this point a short remark on the relation between protreptic and apology is called for. Guerra points out that the term CxTToAoy'ta, used in its widest sense, often refers to works that were not primarily intended as defenses but that were "positive propagandistic appeals to win converts" (Guerra 1995, ix) and that the protreptic genre may be seen as part of the apologetic tradition." What remains to be done in this chapter is to give an overview of the characteristics protreptic texts that represent the antecedent of tradition of protreptic that was directly or indirectly at Augustine's disposal when he wrote the Contesstons." But Augustine was not constricted to using elements from one genre only. The protreptic intent of a work could conceivably be realized by using elements from a variety of other genres as well. This means that my arguments for seeing a protreptic communicative function embodied in the Confessions do not imply that I oppose those who have identified, for example, elements of 14 This is also indicated by the title of Guerra's work (Romans and the apologetic tradition), arguing that Romans is a protreptic text. By "directly" available I refer to texts he is known to have read. But I am convinced that a body of knowledge on generic practices was perpetuated by the schools of rhetoric, so that a rhetorician like Augustine can in fact "indirectly" imitate works he has never actually read. 15 56 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za the ancient hymn in this text. I also hope to demonstrate (in chapter 2.1.3) that the literary antecedents identified by Courcelle in his survey of antecedents for the autobiographical aspects of the Confessions include works from a variety of genres. But I have to emphasize here, what I have implied before. The present dissertation does not aim at a comprehensive examination of the generic characteristics of the Confessions, but only to consider the extent to which this text displays characteristics of one particular genre, namely the protreptic genre. c. Characteristic Features of the Protreptic Genre I have indicated that, although communicative purpose will be regarded as the primary criterion for identifying the genre of a work as protreptic, this is complemented other characteristic, if not "necessary," "other" characteristics, by a study of elements of the genre. This section treats these matters concerning form, structure, style, content and intended audience. It is primarily a distillation of the ideas of existing scholarship (to a high degree scholars of the use of Greco-Roman genres in the New Testament, especially Paul's Letter to the Romans that is read by some as a protreptic), complemented by a reading of some of the primary sources themselves. I start with a very short discussion of the first three elements, form, structure and style because, as has been said above, there is no specific pattern of form, structure or style that can be said to be constitutive for the protreptic genre. Aune (1991, 97) identifies the different forms a protreptic could take as "oral discourses ... written dialogues, discourses (i.e., monologues), and letters." To this Jordan (1986, 328) adds the categories anthology, hymn, aphorism, biography and anecdote. The Confessions seems at first sight to be a straightforward written discourse, a monologue. But the constantly felt presence of God as Augustine's formal addressee and the fact that God's speech is also represented in the Confessions through the abundance of Scriptural quotations, make the work at the same time approach the spirit of a dialogue, as Herzog (1984,213-250) has argued. As far as structure is concerned, it emerges from the definitions above and from studies of ancient protreptic that the content of most protreptics displays certain "stages" (Jordan 1986, 309) or "features" (Aune 1991, 101) rather than distinct sections. Usually between two to four of these features, that I prefer to call streams, are identified by the various scholars. The two streams that always occur are a negative stream, refuting the claims of rival groups and a 57 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za positive stream where the speaker's or the writer's position is stated, defended recommended. On the basis of the numerous examples he studied, Aune (1991,101) and adds a third optional feature: a direct appeal to the audience to make an immediate choice on the grounds of the foregoing protreptic message. Objections to seeing the Confessions as a protreptic because of the absence (or lack of prominence) of just this last element must of course disappear if we realize that this is deemed an optional feature of protreptic texts. As far as the first two elements are concerned my analysis shows that refuting the main tenets of Manichean thought (the negative stream) is one of the important streams that run through the Confessions from beginning to end, while the Christian way of life (the positive stream) is presented throughout as the only worth while way of living. It must be emphasized that in speaking of "streams" running through the Confessions I choose to follow Aune in seeing the negative and positive elements of the content of the protreptic as "stages" or "features" because no accompanying clear-cut structural patterns (e.g. positive section, negative section, positive section) can be deduced from the extant examples studied. Now, a few remarks on the style of the protreptic. One aspect of the style of extant protreptics that I would like to compare with that of the Confessions, but which is rarely mentioned in the scholarship up to now, is the tone of these works. Only Malherbe (1986, 121) makes a passing remark about protreptic speeches in this regard: "The speech ... could be harsh or gentle, biting or soothing, but it was always to be frank and aim at the benefit of the hearer." It is clear from this remark, first, that a good measure of variation in tone is probably to be expected, and second, that tone is, like the other characteristic features of the protreptic, always to be examined in the context of its contribution towards the protreptic purpose of the whole. An analysis of the tone used can, however, yield important information about both the communicative purpose of the text and the relationship between the author and his audience. It can be a very powerful tool of persuasion, especially if the author's insight into the psychological make-up of his audience enables him to find the exact tone at the right moment to touch tender or weak spots. Another aspect concerning the tone of a protreptic is the similarities it shows to what I will call a diatribe-like tone." Malherbe (1986, 120-130) identifies the diatribe as one of the modes of exhortation and devotes a section to the style of the diatribe where he also touches on tone. 16 For the difficulties surrounding the identification of a formal genre called diatribe and the various forms the diatribe could take, see the concise discussion by Moles (1996, 463-464). 58 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za He speaks, for example, of a display of impatience with the hearer, the prominence of rhetorical questions, and the use of dialogue with a fictive opponent (which contribute to a tone of impatience or urgency). Stowers (1981, 46-47) points out that the most distinctive characteristic of the diatribe is its dialogical element. These same elements make a significant contribution to creating an urgent tone in specific passages in the Confessions. What is more, Malherbe's observation that the diatribe usually has "the aim of moving people to action rather than reflection" shows that this diatribe-like tone would have been seen to be particularly well-suited to the communicative purpose of the protreptic, as is also emphasized by Stowers (1981, 75-78). Courcelle (1963,111-117), in his chapter, "Conversion et Diatribe: Augustin et Perse," also points to the fact that Augustine knows and quotes Persius' Satires (with their strong diatribal character) in the Confessions and other works and that certain sections of the Confessions are diatribe-like in character. Though this diatribe-like tone - like many other elements - cannot be shown to be a "necessary" element in a protreptic text it is conceivable that this might be one of the effective ways to urge someone to see the errors of his present ways and to make the change advised in the protreptic. I will, however, also show in my analyses that passages with a diatribe-like tone is counterbalanced by passages where a caring tone prevails. This is of course only an indication of the variation Augustine uses in order to do everything in his power to reach his audience. Let us now look at elements concerning the content of protreptic texts. The terms topic, motive, theme and tapas occur regularly in the discussion of literary works and their meanings often overlap. I will use all of these terms to describe what I divide here into three sections: recurring sets of imagery; recurring themes; and recurring devices, in the Confessions on the one hand, and in the protreptic works I see as its antecedents on the other. To start with recurring sets of imagery: Berger (1984, 1139-1145) identifies two topoi that occur in protreptic texts, the imagery of the two ways and the imagery of wool dyeing. While the imagery of wool dyeing does not occur in the Confessions, the image of the two ways, a central characteristic of protreptic from its earliest existence, is conspicuously prominent. Typically, in protreptics, the positive aspects of the recommended (narrow and difficult) way are praised while the negative aspects of the alternative (broad and easy) way are criticized. That the image of the way and the accompanying imagery of walking or journeying away from and back to God, are central in the Confessions is commonly accepted. Knauer's excellent article (1957, 216-248), "Perigrinatio Animae," shows how the image of the way is 59 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za carried by quotations from the story of the prodigal son and underscores importance of this image in the the central Contessione" The next topos I want to discuss is the use of the imagery of the physician and his patient and the accompanying imagery of the diseased soul. The imagery of the medicus is found in numerous examples of protreptics, and seems to have been so narrowly associated with the genre that Philo of Larissa uses it to define the basic nature of the genre (see the definition above). My arguing for the image of the healer as central in protreptic was to a large degree sparked off by my reading of Gaiser's study (1959) of protreptic elements in Plato's dialogues and the fact that this image recurs with high frequency in the dialogues he discusses. Further, medical imagery is not only prominent in the Confessions but also in the texts of the Manicheans whom I see as the main rival group (as well as an important addressee) figuring in the work. This image occurs in other genres as well, but it occurs with such regularity and is so well suited to the purposes of protreptic that I feel justified in seeing its presence, in conjunction with other elements, as a possible indication of the protreptic nature of a work. I am aware that these topoi (the image of the two ways and the medical imagery) are part of the universal language of philosophy and of learned treatises of the time. They are not used in protreptic exclusively and merely pointing to their presence in the Confessions does not say anything about the communicative purpose of the work." Further, neither of these topoi have been shown to be a necessary element in protreptic texts. I try to show, however, that they are eminently suited to support a protreptic communicative (1972, 99-100) emphasize this: "Because purpose. Cairns' remarks topoi can thus move from genre to genre, assignments to genres must always be based not so much on secondary elements as on the logic of the situation. No quantity of secondary elements makes an example of a genre, although their presence is a welcome confirmation of an assignment based on primary elements." The fact that these topoi occur with such frequency in the Confessions makes an important contribution to how the whole is perceived and how it affects the reader. The modern reader 17 See also Pfligersdorffer and its predecessors. (1987, 83) for the prominence of the image of the way in the Confessions Topoi were seldom exclusive to any genre, as Cairns (1972, 99) reminds us: "as the generic patterns became more elaborate and as rhetorical training became more influential, the introduction of new material into an example of a genre inevitably came to mean more and more the use in an example of one genre of a topos associated with another genre. The ability of many topoi to move from one genre to another is central to generic originality." 18 60 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za must remember that the use of topoi was an important device in the creation of meaning and that ancient readers would probably much more sensitive to the occurrence of such themes than modern reader can ever become." There is one theme that recurs in all the protreptic texts that I have read, that also the reader of the Confessions will immediately recognize as familiar, namely the theme of scientia. This theme takes a central position in the argumentation, as is illustrated, for example, by Gaiser's study of the protreptic elements in the Platonic dialogues he analyses. Scientia is of course a core element in most of the post-Socratic philosophical systems starting with Socrates' central doctrine that virtue equals knowledge (Henry 1969, xxxviii), and extending to most popular Hellenistic and Roman philosophies that still assume virtue as teachable and related to knowledge (Malherbe 1986, 12-13). Scientia it is also a persistent theme in Augustine's Confessions, and one more characteristic that makes this text similar to many of its protreptic antecedents. The prominence of the theme of scientia is consistent with Christianity's being th viewed, and consciously presenting itself, by the 4 century A.D., as a system very much akin to philosophy." Moreover, when it is taken into consideration scientia was especially that the whole idea of prominent in the writings of the people I will argue formed an important part of the intended audience of the Confessions, the Manicheans, its use in the Confessions may be viewed as even more significant for the themes treated in this dissertation. The other factor that is underscored by the different discussions of ancient protreptics is the prominence of the use of one particular recurring device, namely the use of exempla, and then especially exemplary conversion stories. Though the use of exempla is by no means a distinguishing characteristic of protreptic only, and occurs regularly in all types of rhetoric, the nature of protreptic does make the presence of exemplary conversion stories almost a sine qua non for the genre. Personal examples were thought to possess special protreptic power because, as Malherbe (1986, 135) points out, "they were regarded as more persuasive than words and as providing concrete models to imitate." In the analyses below I argue that Augustine's conversion story, together with the shorter versions of a number of other 19 Cairns' remarks about the selection of topoi also imply the modern reader's lack of proficiency as far as the perception of the meaning encoded in the use of topoi is concerned: "Neglect of the generic basis of ancient literature sometimes blinds scholars to the skilful selection which an author has made, and leads them to criticize him for faults which he has gone out of his way to avoid." See Aune 1991 (106-109) for indications that Judaism as well as Christianity were viewed by outsiders as philosophies and how "some educated Christians ... used the intellectual framework of the major Greek philosophical traditions both to fashion their understanding of Christianity itself and to shape the ways in which they communicated with Jews and Greeks" (108). 20 61 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za conversion stories, especially in book 8, are meant to be seen as exempla to be followed, exactly because the theme of the imitation of the lives of others, read or observed, is so prominent in the Confessions. I end with a quick look at what I consider a set of words that constitute a typical vocabulary for the description of the effect a protreptic text has. In the examples of protreptic texts that I discuss in 2.1.3 below, as well as in Augustine's own description of his encounter with a protreptic text, the Horlensius, I have found a range of vocabulary that occurs regularly. These are the words that describe the actions and the strong emotions unleashed by the inner turmoil preceding conversion and also those of the final moment of conversion. First there are of course the words describing or advising conversion itself, words like exhorlare, converli, TTpOTpÉTTEIV, and their derivatives. Accompanying these and describing a closely related semantic range are the words for sleeping and waking that indicate, respectively, the undesired and the desired attitude and activity of the addressee, words like somnium, sopor, somnus, and dormire on the one hand and evigilare, and excitare on the other." Lastly, there are the words that describe the strong emotions of conversion in terms of fire imagery, words like accendere, flamma, incendium, and TTUp. The speaker's desire for truth, embodied in philosophy or religion, is also very often described in terms of erotic imagery, of which the fire imagery forms, of course, an important element." 2.1.3 Literary Antecedents The aim of this section of chapter 2 is to show, by looking at literary practice preceding Augustine's Confessions, that the combination of autobiography, philosophical discussion, and exegesis in a single work, which had (among other purposes) the objective to convert its readers, was not an unknown generic procedure in Late Antiquity. This section leans heavily on Courcelle's Les "Confessions" de s. Augustin dans la tradition littéraire: antécédents et postérité (1963), but moves beyond his important study in the sense that it looks at these predecessors influenced in their totality and not only at the autobiographical Augustine's autobiographical writing. parts and how they I do not claim that any of the works 21 It was Feldmann's passing remarks (1994, 1162) on the occurrence of excitare that first alerted me to the occurrence of typical protreptic vocabulary: "Das excitare gehërt nun zu den charakteristischen Wortern des (philosophischen) Protreptikos und entspricht dem griechischen rrpOTpÉTTSIV: See for example O'Connell's discussion (1994, 72 and 73-74) of depictions of Philosophia in the Dialogues, Continentia in the Confessions as well as Cicero's Sapientia in the Horlensius in erotic 22 terms. 62 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za examined here show the exact same set of generic features as the Confessions, only that looking at literary conventions before Augustine makes the Confessions appear much less strange than it has been made out to be. It also brings greater appreciation of how creatively he employs what is available to him to write a work that is, nevertheless, like the best literary works, generically unique. But discussing the literary antecedents of a work like the Confessions is difficult in the sense that the researcher is faced with the problems of genre in general, and of modern readers interpreting ancient texts in particular, but also to some extent with the problematic surrounding the work of great religious figures like Augustine and the religious overtones they carry. The reasons why Courcelle (1963, 10) has to come to the astounding conclusion that by the time of his study the Confessions seemed never before to have been studied as a literary product of its time are probably located, inter alia, within this network of issues." Of course, trends in research also play a role and a re-evaluation of the literature of Late Antiquity and attempts to discover the rationale behind the use of literary devices characteristic of this period have become fashionable only towards the end of the previous century. The fact remains that for various reasons the researcher at the beginning of the 21st century still finds work to do in the field of studying the Confessions against its literary background. Let us start with a closer look at some of these problems. The first area of difficulty I want to comment on is closely related to the much-debated question of the "historicity" of the Confessions, discussed in the first chapter. Problems arise from both the inappropriate expectations of modern readers of ancient texts and from religious presuppositions: the Confessions, i.e. the autobiography, of one of the hallowed saints of the Church has to be the representative story of his life, it has to be the "truth". A concomitant distrust of rhetorical devices and the belief that the cleverer the techniques and the more conventional the expression, the less true is the subject matter, complicate the issue." The result is that for many years the possibility of Augustine's autobiographical narrative being a clever rhetorical construct, using the rhetorical devices popular at the time, was simply not considered. It is not the object of this dissertation to judge the historicity of the autobiographical narrative in "[1]1ne semble pas que I'on ait jamais examiné de pres les Confessions littéraire." (Courcelle 1963,10). 23 In the case of the Confessions the debate on the point. Also O'Meara's remarks (1951, 29) about the can trace how closely his dialogues approach approximation is, to some extent, a measure of their 24 au sein de la tradition historicity of the work revolves around exactly this Cassiciacum dialogues illustrate this attitude: "We to these models, and the measure of their untrustworthiness as guaranteeing facts." 63 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za the Confessions. It is, however, imperative to show that an increased understanding of the literary milieu within which the text functioned and the light this throws on the literary devices it employs can contribute greatly to the appreciation of the whole. Let us move to two other interrelated problem areas, namely the generic expectations of modern readers of ancient texts and the notion that the Confessions is an autobiography. First, I have shown that, in the case of an ancient text, the expectations of a reader many centuries later must in some ways be judged inferior to those of the original parent discourse community. Of course, we do not know what those readers' expectations of a text like the Confessions were. But although our knowledge will probably always remain imperfect, an effort to understand the generic and other literary conventions of the time the text was produced, may give us a better understanding and must for this reason be made. The idea that the Confessions is "an autobiography" is a long established one. A study of how and when this perception developed, and especially whether it existed from the outset, and if so, what its contents were then, would make an interesting project but cannot be part of this dissertation. Clark (1993, 102) points to the fact that the other famous book of Confessions, that of Rousseau, was named "in deliberate reference to Augustine," not to imitate the latter's belief about human nature, but to reject it. What I find interesting is that the motives scholars have consciously or subconsciously ascribed to Augustine for writing the Confessions, are very similar to the motives Rousseau offers for writing his Confessions. Rousseau, as Clark (1993, 102) puts it, wrote "to relieve his mind, to give readers some knowledge of a human being other than themselves, to refute accusations, to enjoy his memories of himself." I argue that these are the motives for writing the Confessions that modern scholars, often subconsciously, ascribe to Augustine while he may have written this work with completely different or, at least, with additional motives. At the same time, it is probably safe to say that the majority of Augustine's readers, during his lifetime and through later ages, casual readers and researchers alike, have read the Confessions because of the "knowledge of another human being" they hoped to glean from it. In my analyses in chapter 5 I argue that Augustine was aware of this fact, and used it consciously to attract readers to his Confessions, but with a different ultimate purpose in mind. From everything that has been said it is clear that simply to approach the text with all the subconscious influenced expectations a modern reader would have of a modern autobiography, by ideas about Rousseau's Confessions, is a potentially dangerous or modus operandi. From the subsequent discussion it will become clear that, while an ancient reader might not have argued with the idea that the Confessions was, among other things, autobiographical, the assumptions and expectations the term may have raised for this reader 64 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za would probably have been totally different from those it would raise for modern readers. As Forman (1995, 41) puts it: "In short, by modern understanding of the genre, Confessions is not autobiography since it never attempts to portray a whole life." Above I surveyed some of the reasons why the Confessions' indebtedness to the literary climate within which it originated had been practically ignored before Courcelle. The pioneering task for him was to show that the Confessions does indeed teem with literary devices that can be shown to have been prevalent at the time of its writing as well as with direct allusions to some of its models. This Courcelle (1963, 91-197) demonstrates convincingly. Literary antecedents (and the probability of Augustine being influenced directly or indirectly by specific models) exist for all of the following motifs in the Confessions: the quest for truth presented as a movement through a series of philosophical or religious positions, a pagan motif Christianized by Pseudo-Clement and Hilary of Poitiers; the central importance of the sin of curiositas, which we find in Lucius' preoccupations in Apuleius' Metamorphoses; Confession a quest for truth in the form of a confession of sins, present in the of Cyprian of Antioch; the use of specific diatribal features discernable for example in Persius' Satires; the conversion through grace, as described by Paul in the Acts of the Apostles and by Cyprian of Carthage in his Ad Donatum; the allegorical use of autobiography, prominent especially in the documentation of their visions by African martyrs; the admonition of special import received through formulas that were part of children's games in for example Xenophon of Ephesus and Jewish writings; and even the garden as the setting for a momentous spiritual experience followed by a conversion, which occurs in ancient writings like philosophical Dialogues and Christian apologetic works. Even a superficial survey of these examples should make clear that the nature of the autobiographical narration in all these instances differ from popular modern autobiography in the respect that often the ulterior motive of converting the reader is present, but more about this later. What Courcelle does not do, is to consider the genres of the works that furnish the antecedents for the Confessions or the generic features of the whole into which Augustine transplants these motifs. Of course, the structure of the Confessions was not the focus of Courcelle's study, but rather the autobiographical antecedents for the autobiographical sections of the work. The present study is interested in precedents for the combination of autobiographical sections with philosophical discussion and exegesis and with the function of the autobiographical narrative within a bigger unit. The works that, according to Courcelle, 65 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za furnish the (autobiographical) antecedents Augustine employs in his Confessions represent a widely diverse range of types, as a quick look at the list above will verify.25 Moreover, the length and function of the autobiographical sections in these works vary considerably. Courcelle's study already points (albeit indirectly) to the abundant evidence that antecedents for the inclusion of an autobiographical narrative within a larger work, often with a polemical and exegetical purpose, existed. What is most significant, however, is the fact that many of the autobiographical narratives discussed by Courcelle are not the story of a life from beginning to end but much more specifically focused: they are conversion stories." The aim of a conversion story is conceivably to inform readers about how the writer was converted. But in ancient philosophy, as well as Christianity, it was always assumed that the person who had "seen the light" was now burdened with the mission to lead others to it. Conversion stories were written with the aim to convert the reader, i.e. with protreptic intent. From the discussion below it will become clear that in the models adduced by Courcelle the autobiographical narrative often has a function subordinate to that of the whole and not the kind of function a modern reader would expect an autobiography to have. It is my contention that a scrutiny of the antecedents Courcelle discusses, shows that it is only a reader who is not from the privileged discourse community who would be surprised by the co-existence of autobiography and philosophical discussion and / or exegesis in the same work. Yet century scholarship seems universally perplexed with the four non-autobiographical zo" books "added on to" the autobiography. Knauer (1955, 19) formulates this in his introduction: Man hat Augustin immer wieder vorgeworfen, er hatte den Aufbau dadurch verunklërt, da~ er an die neun ersten Bucher ... noch vier Bucher anqehánqt habe ... Das Verhaltnis der drei letzten zu den ersten zehn Buohem hat ... immer wieder gro~es Ratseiraten verursacht. This lack of understanding manifests in its most extreme form in editions or translations of the Confessions that simply, without explanation, leave out the last three or four books (as I have indicated in chapter 1). Before we narrow the focus down to more immediate predecessors of the Confessions, let us start with the wider background of ancient literary practice. The combination of a vita (even if 25 See also Pfligersdorffer's "Das Bauprinzip von Augustins Confessiones" (1987, 79-88) for a discussion of the way in which various pagan and Christian models for the "Bekehrungsgeschichte" function as background to an understanding of the Confessions. 26 Courcelle (1963, 89) calls this section of his book "Les descriptions de conversion." 66 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za not necessarily the own vita) with philosophical discussion is not an unknown occurrence in late ancient philosophical literature. Prominent examples are Plotinus' Enneads prefaced by the Vita Porphyrii and lamblichus' De vita Pythagorica that starts with the vita of Pythagoras (followed by the protreptic and then by the philosophical discussion proper). In general, the life of the philosopher was seen as an appropriate introduction to a more theoretical discussion of his work: "In late antiquity it became conventional to preface a philosopher's works with a biography" (Aune 1991,103). to a large extent exegetical: discussions, What is more, philosophical discussion was often interpretations and quotations of the works of predecessors formed and integral part of the fabric of the prose. Further, use of the exemplary force of the personal example for protreptic purposes was already present in Plato's early Socratic dialogues. Socrates is the ultimate paradigm that shows the correct way by walking it himself. But the fact that he is the example to be followed, is not presented directly. He is presented, as a matter of fact, as the one most in need of improvement (Gaiser 1959, 155). Gaiser also describes Socrates as taking on himself the danger in which the others - unbeknown to themselves - are living; he takes their place and in this way is really able to show them the way. The parallels with Augustine's description of himself in the Confessions as the epitome of sinfulness, walking the arduous road back to God, are obvious. The combination of the own vita, i.e. autobiographical narration, with philosophical discussion was also a widespread phenomenon. Malherbe's discussion philosophers' convention to use autobiographical (1986, 34-37) of the moral narratives as a preface to their own works, names Julian's Oration and Epictetus' Discourse 3 as cases in point. This also indicates another possible function of the autobiographical autobiographical preface (although section in Augustine's in the case of the Confessions Confessions: the the autobiographical section is clearly much more than a preface) often had the function of justifying the "activity as moral reformers" and illustrating "the rigorous self-examination required before daring to correct others" (Malherbe 1986, 34).27 As the discussion progresses, the reader will notice that this dissertation does not attempt to argue for direct literary dependence of the Confessions on works taken as possible literary antecedents. The assumption behind this is that knowledge of literary conventions must have been the common property of those practicing and teaching the art of rhetoric, partly 27 I argue in chapter 5 that one of the objectives of the last four books of the Confessions (but also of the first part of the work) is to "correct" the views of the Manicheans on a number of subjects. 67 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za because they knew some works where these devices were implemented very well, partly because they knew about works using them, and also because these devices were the tools of the trade, taught and discussed on a daily basis, even though we can never have any real evidence of this.28 Before we focus on specific antecedents for the Confessions (where autobiographical narrative, philosophical discourse, exegesis and a protreptic communicative purpose are combined), let us turn our attention to an interesting fact that was not discussed above but that concerns the main focus of my analysis, namely protreptic. David Aune's incisive study, "Romans as a Logos Protreptikos" (1991), includes a very detailed and broad overview of the history of the protreptic, from its earliest beginnings in early Greek philosophy up to its adaptation by Jewish and Christian writers, a history that extends to Augustine's Contra Academicos, "a }..óy05 TTpOTpETTTIKÓ5 explicitly dependent on Cicero's Horlensius" (106). Apart from the very large number of examples of protreptics that shows how popular the genre had been from the 1st century A.D. onward, Aune (1991, 102) refers to the circulation of stories of philosophical conversions, celebrating "the successes of philosophical propaganda." This serves to illustrate that by the time Augustine studied, taught and practiced rhetoric the protreptic was definitely one of the genres in circulation that might have offered itself as a possible vehicle for his thoughts. There exists a multitude of texts that can be called protreptic, either in totality or to a certain degree, starting from before the days of Plato and continuing through its appropriation and adaptation by Christian writers up to (and past) the time of Augustine. The existence of this wealth of material, a "bewildering range of protreptic examples" Jordan (1986, 310) calls it, underscores what I have said above about direct and indirect literary dependence. It is redundant to go into details of how much Greek Augustine knew or which of these antecedent works he might have read. The genre of the protreptic was so well presented that rather it would be foolish to assume that he could have been ignorant of its existence, its purposes and characteristics. Let us return to some of the (already Christianized) literary models for the Confessions discussed by Courcelle, but now with the purpose of discovering the place of the autobiographical section in relation to the whole. The Dialogus cum Tryphone by Justin This seems to be the assumption behind Courcelle's modus operandi (1963, 96): "Je ne pretends nullement qu' Augustin ait connu et utilise taus ces texts autobiographiques" and "II ne me parait pas impossible non plus qu'iI ait eu connaissance, d'une maniere ou d'une autre, du roman clémentin" (my emphasis). 28 68 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Martyr, saint Cyprian of Carthage's Ad Donatum, and the De Trinitate by Hilary of Poitiers29 offer precedents for the combination of autobiographical elements with argumentation that can be called polemical, philosophical, and! or exegetical. The reader is reminded that this kind of argumentation opposing theories would be perfectly at home in the protreptic where the refutation of is always an important element of the whole. While the similarities between these works and the Confessions are the focus of the following discussion, it is good to remember that the biggest difference lies in the amount of space allotted to the autobiographical section or conversion story in these works on the one hand and the Confessions on the other? In the Dialogus cum Tryphone Justin Martyr's autobiographical narrative takes up only capita 2 to 8 of the 142 capita that constitute the dialogue. He starts by describing his disappointing encounter with different philosophies, until eventually he enters into a much more fruitful relationship with the Platonists. Both the initial liberating effect of Platonic thinking on his thought processes and the eventual disappointment are presented in terms similar to those Augustine uses to relate his experience with the Libri Platonicorum: h KO'I !JEDPEIo<l>óópo TWVC(OW!JÓTCuV Vóll0l5, KOl T~V <l>PÓVllOlV ... KOl h 9EWp'taTWV'tÓEWVaVETTTÉpoU !JOl irrró ~AOKE'ta5~ATTll;ovOUTIKOKOTÓ\jJE090I TOV 9EÓV'TOUTOyap TÉA05T~5 nAÓTWV05 <l>IAooo<l>'I05 (c.2) [And the perception of immaterial things quite overpowered me, and the contemplation of ideas furnished my mind with wings ... and such was my stupidity, I expected forthwith to look upon God, for this is the end of Plato's philosophy]." The autobiographical narrative culminates in a chance encounter with an old man (like the pivotal chance encounters in Book 8 of the Confessions) who directs Justin to the prophets as the only teachers of truth, thus a chance encounter causing a turn to the Bible, exactly like that presented in the Confessions. The old man also leaves him with a warning containing a reference to light that sounds familiar to the reader of the Confessions: 29 This is the one work where direct literary dependence can be proved (Courcelle 1963, 96). It is perhaps useful to remind the reader at this point that the autobiographical part of the Confessions does not comprise as big a percentage of the whole as the book numbers lead us to believe: in O'Donnell's text edition books 1-9 cover pages 3 to 118 (115 pages) and books 10-13 pages 119 to 205 (86 pages). If we break the work up into conversion story proper (books 1-8) and philosophical discussion, protreptic, and exegesis (books 9-13) we get a ratio of 99 pages (pp.3-102) for the autobiographical narrative to 102 pages (pp. 103-205) for the rest. 30 For this text I use the Greek text of Marcovich (1997) and Roberts and Donaldson's (1950). 31 69 translation Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za EUXOU OE OOI TTpO TTáVTc.uV <j>c.uT05 aVOIXeDVOI TTO:ÓIVEOTIV, E'I IJ~ reo TTUA05· ou yap eE05 o~ OUVIEVOI KOl Ó XplOT05 OUVOTTTa ouoE OUTOU OUVVOT]Ta (c.7) [But pray that, above all things, the gates of light may be opened to you; for these things cannot be perceived or understood by all, but only by the man to whom God and His Christ have imparted wisdom]. Justin then undergoes (in a garden like Augustine) a sudden conversion to Christianity, which, take note, he describes as an ultimate philosophy: EIJOU OE TTOPOXPDIJO TTUp EV avOpwv TTl \jJuxu EKE'IVc.uV, Ó'I E'IOI XplOTOU av~<j>eT], KOl 'Épc.u5 'ÉXEI IJE TWV TTpO<j>T]TWVKOl <j>'IAOI·OIOAOyll;ÓIJEVÓ5 TWV TE TTp05 EIJOUTOV TOU5 AÓYOU5 OUTOU TOUTT]V IJÓVT]V EUplOKOV <j>IAOOO<j>'IOV ao<j>OAD TE KOl OUIJ<j>opOV (c.B) [But straightaway a flame was kindled in my soul; and a love of the prophets, and of those men who are friends of Christ, possessed me; and whilst revolving his words in my mind, I found this philosophy alone to be safe and profitable]. But it is not only the autobiographical parts of the Dialogus cum Tryphane that show striking resemblances to Augustine's Confessions. The rest of the work, the polemical discussion in dialogue form of the relative merits of the Jewish and the Christian positions with strong emphasis on exegesis and biblical proof for arguments, as well as the special place afforded to the Book of Psalms, find parallels in Augustine's masterpiece and show features of the protreptic genre. The work ends with a direct exhortation to Trypho and his associates to be converted to Christianity. It is clear that persuasion in the Dialogus cum Tryphane rests on two legs: personal confession, i.e. the use of the own vita as an exemplum, on the one hand, and philosophical argument supported by exegesis on the other. Though Trypho's conversion is not reported as the result of the exhortation, the reader is left with no doubt that this is the aim of the dialogue: I UIJ05 TOUTOV , TTpOTpETTOIJOI, aywvo, TTOVTOKpáTOp05 I EVOTT]OOIJEVOU5 TWV OIOOOKáAc.uV eEOU XplOTÓV «:, urrep TT]5 «:" I EOUTc.uV UIJWV orrouêóoct 0c.uTT]pI05 TTpOTIIJDOOI I IJEylOTOV IJO:AAOV TOV TOU (c.142) [I exhort you to give all diligence in this very great struggle for your own salvation, and to be earnest in setting a higher value on the Christ of the Almighty God than on your own teachers]. In Cyprian's Ad Donatum, what Roberts and Donaldson (1951, 275) introduces as "a discourse on things Divine," requested by the addressee of the letter, starts unexpectedly 70 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za with an account of Cyprian's personal experiences." communication example (1.1-2) reminds of the (thought to have special discussion significant (1.3, note Contessions" and renders the choice of the personal persuasive once philosophical discussion). Confessions. In the autobiographical Cyprian's consciousness of the limits of again power) to preface the more theoretical the combination of autobiography and But there is more that seems familiar to the reader of the section the emphasis is on the soul's distress in its search for light: ego cum in tenebris atque in nocte coeca iacerem, cumque in salo iactantis saeculi nutabundus ac dubius vestigiis oberrantibus fluctuarem ... veritatis ac lucis alienus (1.3) [While I was still lying in darkness and gloomy night, wavering hither and thither, tossed about ... and remote from truth and light]. There is also a confession of the author's past sins: nam, ut ipse quamplurimis vitae prioris erroribus implicitus tenebar, quibus exui me posse non crederem, sic vitiis adhaerentibus obsecundans eram (1.4) [For as I myself was held in bonds by the innumerable errors of my previous life, from which I did not believe that I could by possibility be delivered, so I was disposed to acquiesce in my clinging vices] and of the initial skepticism towards the way prescribed by Catholicism: qui possibilis, aiebam, est tanta conversio (1.3) ['How'said I, 'is such a conversion possible']. The autobiographical narration culminates, like that of Augustine, in a description of the own conversion (1.4). The purpose of the personal example is clearly beyond what a modern reader expects of autobiography. It is a captatio benevo/entiae confessing the lack of superiority of the speaker in relation to the hearer, and his total dependence on God: Dei est, inquam, Dei est omne quod possumus (1.4) [All our power is of God; I say, of God]. This, to my mind, enhances the protreptic-paraenetic power of the conversion story which, embedded as it is in a letter that seems to aim at encouraging Donatus to continue diligently on his chosen way, must be included for just this purpose. Once again the autobiographical another section where the addressee is urged in typical section is combined with protreptic terminology: si tu This letter is often classified, not under the letters of st. Cyprian but under the treatises. See the remark by Roberts and Donaldson (1951, 265). Here I use the text of the Ad Donatum in the Patrologiae Cursus Completus (1844) where the Ad Donatum is printed as Epistula 1. The translation is that of Roberts and Donaldson 1951. See also O'Meara (1992, 81) on the "number of surprising reminiscences in the Confessions" of the Ad Donatum. 32 33 O'Donnell (1992, 157), in his commentary on Book 10 of the Confessions, also comments on Augustine's awareness of the limits of communication: "The opacity of speaker to hearer and the unbridged distance between them often led A. to sober reflection, usually concentrating on the inadequacies of the speaker." Of course the personal example is present only through the medium of language as well and this is precisely what Augustine is concerned with in book 10 of the Confessions: how may the reader know that what he says about himself is the truth (Conf 10.3.3)? Still, what is presented indirectly through the personal example may be easier to imitate than what is presented in an even more abstract theoretical argument. 71 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za innocentiae, si iustitiae viam teneas (1.5) [But if you keep the way of innocence, the way of righteousness]. Note also the description of the improvement of the soul in medical terms: inde iam facultas datur ... in medelam dolentium posse venenarum virus extinguere; animorum desipientium labes, reddita sanitate, purgare (1.5) [Thence is given power ... that is able to quench the virus of poisons for the healing of the sick, to purge out the stains of foolish souls by restored health]. Cyprian's rejection of all things worldly (1.6), the strict censure of the games (1.7) and the theatre (1.8), seen as an enticement to man to follow the immoral ways of the pagan gods, as well as the emphasis on the deceptive nature of worldly success (1.11), are motifs we also find in Augustine's Confessions. The letter ends with a direct exhortation that reads almost like a program for what Augustine does in the Confessions: Tu tantum, quem iam spiritalibus castris eoelestis militia signavit, tene incorruptam, tene sobriam religiosis virtutibus disciplinam. sit fibi veloratio assidua vellectio: nunc cum Deo loquere, nunc Deus tecum: iIIe praeceptis suis instruat, iIIe disponat (1.15) [Do you, however, whom the celestial warfare has enlisted in the spiritual camp, only observe a discipline uncorrupted an chastened in the virtues of religion. Be constant as well in prayer as in reading; now speak with God, now let God speak with you, let Him instruct you in His precepts, let Him direct yoU].34 Thus, like the Dialogus cum Tryphane, the Ad Donatum, which Augustine consciously 1963, (Courcelle autobiographical 120-124), does not provide a model may imitate only for the sections of the Confessions, but also for the protreptic tendencies I discern in this work and for the combination of autobiographical narration with philosophical discussion. The De Trinitate is yet another example of this combination. The step by step refutation of Arian dogma is preceded by a narration of the restless search" experienced by Hilary of Poitiers in his quest for nothing less than "an employment adequate to the powers of human life": Circumspicienti mihi proprium vitae humanae ac religiosum officium, quod vel a natura manas vel a prudentum studiis profectum dignum aliquid hoc concesso sibi ad intellegentiam From the discussion of protreptic and paraenesis above, it is clear that this letter is strictly speaking, more paraenetical in the sense that it encourages its addressee to continue on a way already chosen. 34 35 See for example: Sed inter haec animus sollicitus utili ac necessaria ad cognition em Domini sui via nitens (1.4) ("My soul was distracted amid all these claims, yet still it pressed along that profitable road which leads inevitably to the true knowledge of God") and Fatigabatur autem animus partim suo partim corporis metu (1.10) ("Yet my soul was weighed down with fear both for itself and for the body"). For the De Trinitate I use the text in Smulders 1979 and the translation in Schaff and Wace 1955. 72 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za divini munere obtineret (1.1) [When I was seeking an employment adequate to the powers of human life and righteous in itself, whether prompted by nature or suggested by the researches of the wise, whereby I might attain to some result worthy of that Divine gift of understanding which has been given us]. The search is portrayed in a dramatic way with the fears of the soul repeatedly allayed by God's words, present through scripture, a procedure familiar in Augustine's quotations from Confessions. We find this for example in 1.7 (where the topos of seeing God through the contemplation of His creation is also present): In quibus cum religiosa mens intra inbecillitatis suae concluderetur errorem, hunc de Deo pulcherrimae sententiae modum profeticis vocibus adpraehendit: de magnitudine enim operum et pulchritudine creaturarum consequenter generationum conditor conspicitur [Then, while the devout soul was baffled and astray through its own feebleness, it caught from the prophet's voice this scale of comparison for God, admirably expressed, by the greatness of His works and the beauty of the things that He hath made the Creator of worlds is rightly discerned]. The climax of the autobiographical section is reached in Book 1.14 when Hilary has finally attained to truth, embodied in the Catholic doctrine of the Son of God. Here Hilary reports his conversion and, importantly, the protreptic function he expects this narration to fulfill every time the story is told: In hoc igitur conscio securitatis suae otio mens spebus suis laeta requieuerat, intercessionem mortis huius usque eo non metuens, ut etiam reputaret in uitam aeternitatis ... Quin etiam id quod sibi credebat, tamen per ministerium inpositi sacerdotii etiam ceteris praedicabat, munus suum ad officium publicae salutis extendens [In this calm assurance of safety did my soul gladly and hopefully take its rest, and feared so little the interruption of death, that death seemed only a name for eternal life ... And further, I began to proclaim those truths in which my soul had a personal faith, as a duty of the episcopate which had been laid upon me, employing my office to promote the salvation of all men]. The message to the reader is one of a sincere desire to share the benefits achieved for the self with him or her, to promote his or her salvation. This easily digestible introduction could quite conceivably have served as the motivation to read the more difficult, perhaps tedious, rhetorical refutation that follows, all with the purpose of enabling the reader to eventually make the right choice. It is clear that - as Courcelle (1963, 95-96) has shown - much of the 73 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za strategy employed in the autobiographical narration of the Confessions is derived from Hilary of Poltlers." But, more importantly for the present purposes, it can be shown that the De Trinitate provides yet another precedent for the combination of autobiography and polemic in a work that has at least a protreptic element in its overall function. Lastly, some additional light may be shed on the generic make-up of the Confessions by looking at one of Augustine's Cassiciacum Dialogues, his Contra Academicos. What is significant for the present discussion is Augustine's deft use of various generic devices and the fact that, in many respects, the Contra Academicos seems to contain the seeds of what Augustine eventually brings to fruition in the contessions" The main parallels between the two works that I am interested in here (there are many other smaller points of similarity) are the following: • The addressee of the Contra Academicos is an adherent of Manicheism, as, I will try to show, is the case with an important section of the addressees of the Confessions; • the communicative purpose (or one of the communicative purposes) of both works is to effect an important change in the reader, i.e. the works have protreptic features:" • both works contain an autobiographical narrative (a conversion story) that fulfills a protreptic purpose. The Contra Academicos is a philosophical dialogue in the classic Platonic style and consists of three books of which the first two are prefaced by letters addressing the work to Mariette Canévet in her "Le schéma de conversion dans Ie prologue du De Trinitate d'Hilaire de Poitiers et Ie livre VII des Confessions d'Augustin: Problématique d'un temps" also analyses the similarities betweem Hilary of Poitiers' De Trinitate and book 7 of the Confessions. Both authors make use of a three-step movement towards final conversion: "quête de la raison naturelle avant la lecture de I'Ancien Testament ou des livres platoniciens, cette lecture, puis la découverte de la médiation du Christ" (1987, 166). As the title of the article indicates, she ascribes the similarity to two expressions of the same "problématique d'un temps." 36 37 O'Meara's introductory remarks (1951, 3-33) induced me to examine the relationship between these two works: "The correspondence between the Contra Academicos and the Confessions will be seen to be remarkable" (21). See also O'Connell's incisive treatment (1994,65-76) of the lack of discrepancies (postulated by many scholars) between the Contra Academicos (and the other dialogues) and the Confessions as far as the intrinsically Christian contents of these works are concerned. Tavard (1988, 47, 58-63) discusses similarities (and differences) between the Contra Academicos and book 8 of the Confessions and also Wilson (1990; 264-266) draws a comparison between the Confessions and Contra Academicos. Aune (1991, 105-106) classifies the Contra Academicos as a protreptic and O'Meara (1951, 29) refers to the protreptic function of the prefaces to some of its books. The reader may not find this an obvious parallel with the Confessions at this stage, but the analysis in chapter three should convince her that Conf 9.4.8-11 is an explicit protreptic to the Manicheans. This is borne out by the analysis of other key passages in subsequent chapters of this thesis. 38 74 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Romanianus, Augustine's patron over many years. That he is one of Augustine's oldest friends and benefactors and that his son is one of the participants in the dialogue should not obscure the fact that what we have here is, among other things, a Christian author addressing a Manichean reader. In this attempt to use philosophy and the tools of philosophy in order to change the life of the addressee, Augustine fulfills a moral responsibility (see his acknowledgement of direct involvement with Romanianus' adherence to Manicheism in the second quotation below) and is true to the missionary task now imposed on him by his having attained the ultimate truth. The intention to convert Romanianus is explicitly stated at the outset of the work: 0 ... Romaniane ... nihil pro te nobis aliud quam vota restant, quibus ab iIIo cui haec curae sunt deo, si possumus, impetremus, ut te tibi reddat - ita enim tecile reddet et nobis - sinatque mentem iIIam tuam, quae respirationem iam diu perturit, aliquando in auras verae liberlatis emergere (1.1.1) [I wish, Romanianus, ... we can do nothing for you but pray, so that by our prayers we may win, if we can, the favour from that God who has a care of these things that He bring you back to your true self - and in doing so He will likewise bring you back to us - and allow your mind, which for so long has yearned for respite, to emerge at length into the fresh air of true freedom]." Also Romanianus' adherence to Manicheism is referred to: Ipsa (philosophia) me nunc in otio, quod vehementer optavimus, nutrit me penitus ab ilia superstitione, in quam te mecum praecipitem ac tovet, ipsa dederam, liberavit (1.1.3) [She (philosophy) now nourishes and cherishes me in that leisure which we have so much desired. She has freed me entirely from that heresy into which I had precipitated you with myself]. The two citations above are a clear indication of not only the addressee, communicative purpose of the work. As far as communicative but also the purpose is concerned, there are in fact two interrelated but separate issues involved. The first is the explicit protreptic intention of the introductory letters and the second is the more implicit protreptic of the dialogue to which they are attached. Let us start with the letters. Apart from telling Romanianus outright that he is concerned about him and that he wishes his friend to follow him into Christianity (for example in the first 39 For the Contra Academicos I use the Corpus Christianarum text (1970) and the translation by O'Meara (1951). 75 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za quotation above), Augustine also makes consistent use of the typical vocabulary of the protreptic genre. In the first letter we have for example sapientiae portus in 1.1.1; exitare and evigila, evigi/a, oro te in 1.1.3; and incitarem and hortans in 1.1.4. In the second letter there are necesse est discip/inia atque scientia sapientiae in 2.1.1; adgredere mecum phi/osophiam in 2.2.3; and concitarunt in 2.2.5. But more pronounced in the second letter, is the employment of the theme of scientia and to describe the quest for it - the accompanying pair of quaerere and invenire (based on Matt 7:7, quoted explicitly in 2.3.9) that I argue in chapter 4 plays an important part in the expression of protreptic purpose in the Confessions. Augustine's handling of the protreptic letters suggests a familiarity with the conventions and the topoi of the genre that the reader of the Confessions may do well to bear in mind when she finds these same elements there." O'Meara's analysis (1951, 27-32) of the degree to which the dialogue imitates its models, also illustrates how well Augustine knew the classical models and how well versed he was in their generic conventions: "Augustine deliberately chose a particular literary genre and did not fail to employ all the devices to be found in the many models that were available" (29). How apposite is a dialogue about the positions of the New Academy as a protreptic aimed at converting Romanianus? At least we know that the ideas of the New Academy did provide Augustine with a halfway station between Manicheism and Neo-Platonic Christianity (O'Meara 1951, 16). It is conceivable that he sees it playing the same role for Romanianus, helping him think his way through their ideas (and beyond) towards a better understanding of Catholic Christianity, which was generally regarded as yet another philosophical system. Furthermore, Augustine at this stage still seems willing to use philosophy eclectically, in the way he says the Hortensius urged him to do, as a means towards attaining to the truth, or to what was for him the ultimate philosophy, Catholic Christianity. Against the background of the whole, this is what the section near the end of the first introductory letter seems to imply (it also points to an ongoing conversation between Augustine and his friend on the issue of his conversion): Philosophia est enim, a cuius uberibus se nulla aetas queretur exc/udi. Ad quam aviudius retinendam et hauriendam quo te incitarem, quamvis tuam sitim bene noverim, gustum tamen mittere vo/ui. Quod fibi suavissimum et, ut ita dicam, inductorium fore peto, ne frustra speraverim (1.1.4) [I speak of philosophy from Steidle (1982) also adduces Augstine's use of "kOnstlerische Gestaltungsprinzipien" dialogues as an argument against a very loosely composed Confessions. 40 76 in the early Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za whose breasts no age can complain that it is excluded. And so that I may incite you all the more eagerly to cling to her and drink of her - although I have long been aware of your great thirst for her - I have decided to send you a foretaste. It will, I hope and I beg that my hope be not in vain - be sweet, and, as it were, an enticement to you]. Some of the specific issues treated in the dialogue also seem to be well suited to the concern Augustine expresses near the end of the second introductory letter for Romanianus' state of mind, namely that he might either stop striving towards final enlightenment or form the false impression that he has already found this with the Manicheans: timeo tamen, ne te contemnas atque inventurum esse desperes, aut certe, ne invenisse te credas (2.3.8) [Yet I am afraid lest you should, because of a too mean opinion of yourself, despair of ever finding truth or, on the other hand, should believe that you had already found it]. The third striking parallel between the Contra Academicos and the Confessions is the use of the autobiographical autobiographical narrative, the own conversion story, for protreptic purposes. The section occurs in the letter preface to book 2 of the dialogue and comprises the first extant narrative of Augustine's early life and his conversion. The context into which it is introduced suggests that it is designed to fulfill a protreptic purpose. First, Augustine's enumeration of the reasons for his indebtedness to Romanianus serves to convince the latter of the sincerity of his efforts to win him over to philosophy. Paragraph 2.2.3 starts with the direct exhortation, ergo adgredere mecum philosophiam [Come with me, then, to philosophy], and a recommendation of the benefits of philosophy: hic est quicquid te anxium saepe atque dubitantem mirabiliter solet mouere [Here is everything that is wont wonderfully to move you whenever you are anxious and hesitating]. The autobiographical introduced just after this with Egone tibi gratiam non repensabo? section is An fortasse paululum debeo? [And shall not I make some return to you for your favours? Or is it that lowe you little?] and it reads (apart from its focus on Romanianus) like a concise summary of the story of the Confessions. The narrative starts here with Romanianus' money for Augustine's father; it describes education ran out and his sympathetic the advances in Augustine's first intercession when support at the death of his career that took him successively Carthage and Rome and proceeds up to his present situation at Cassiciacum, to all as an illustration of Romanianus' supportive role. Romanianus is the one who made possible the otium at Cassiciacum, which in turn contributed to the circumstances where Augustine's conversion became possible: 77 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Quod a superfluarum mortua rum curarum veritatem, perventurum cupiditatium respiro vinculis resipisco evolavi, quod depositis oneribus redeo ad me, quod quaero intentissimus quod in venire iam ingredior, quod me ad summum ipsum modum esse confido, tu animasti, tu inpulisti, tu fecisti. Cuius autem minister fueris, plus adhuc fide concepi quam ratione conprehendi (2.2.4) [The fact that I have escaped from the bonds of needless desires; that in laying down the burden of deadly anxiety I begin to breathe again, to recover to return to myself; that I seek most seriously for truth; that I am about to discover it; that I feel confident that I shall arrive at the highest measure itself - you encouraged me to it, you drove me on, you made it possible]. Especially effective as a protreptic are the emotive account of Augustine's yearning for the ultimate revelation and the liberating role of Platonic thinking in the final enlightenment. also significant to note how, in the context of the philosophical and positive evaluation of the encounter It is dialogue, the emphasis on with the Libri Platonicorum is much more pronounced than in the Confessions (note also the use of erotic and fire imagery): Numquam cessavimus inhiantes in philosophiam atque il/am vitam, quae inter nos placuit atque con venit, prorsus nihil aliud cogitare atque id constanter quidem ... Et quoniam nondum aderat ea flamma, quae summa nos arreptura erat, ... cum ecce tibi libri quidam pleni, ut ait Celsinus, bonas res Arabicas ubi exhalarunt in nos, ubi illi flammulae instil/arunt pretiosissimi unguenti guttas paucissimas, incredibile, Romaniane, incredibile et ultra quam de me fortasse et tu credis - quid amplius dicam? - etiam mihi ipsi de me ipso incredibile incendium concitarunt (2.2.5) [We never ceased to yearn after philosophy. Nor did we think of anything else but that life which commended itself to us as both pleasant and suitable. We were, it is true, constant in this thought ... For since as yet we were untouched by that great fire which was to consume us, we thought that the slow fire with which we burned was the greatest. But lo! When certain books full to the brim, as Celsinus says, had wafted to us good things of Arabia, when they had let a very few drops of most precious unguent fall upon that meagre flame, they stirred up an incredible conflagration incredible, Romanianus, incredible, and perhaps beyond - even what you would believe of me - what more shall I say? - beyond even what I would believe of myself]. The narration of the final crisis of his conversion and the pivotal part played by Paul's epistle, events that would later become famous through book 8 of the Confessions, is present here in its embryonic form (note also the use of the verb confiteor in this context): 78 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Prorsus totus in me cursim redibam. Respexi tamen, confiteor, quasi de itinere in iIIam religionem, quae pueris nobis insita est et medullitus inplicata; verum autem ipsa ad se neseientem rapiebat. /taque titubans properans haesitans arripio aposto/um Pau/um. Neque enim vere, inquam, isti tanta potuissent vixissentque ita, ut eos vixisse manifestum est, si eorum litterae atque rationes huic tanto bono adversarentur. Per/egi totum intentissime atque castissime (2.2.5) [Swiftly did I begin to return entirely to myself. Actually, all that I did - let me admit it - was to look back from the end of a journey, as it were, to that religion which is implanted in us in our childhood days and bound up in the marrow of our bones. But she indeed was drawing me unknowing to herself. Therefore, stumbling, hastening, yet with hesitation I seized the Apostle Paul. For truly, I say to myself, those men would never have been able to do such great things, nor would they have lived as they evidently did live, if their writings and doctrines were opposed to this so great a good. I read through all of it with the greatest attention and care]. Although there is no explicit expression of protreptic intent in the autobiographical section, the context of the whole makes clear that Augustine is not merely passing on information, but trying to influence Romanianus to make the same choices. In the Contra Academicos, then, the autobiographical section fulfills the same function as, for example, in the Dia/ogus cum Tryphone. The relatively small amount of space allotted to it, as well as the combination of autobiographical narrative with philosophical discussion, parallels the procedure followed in the other works that I see as antecedents for the Confessions. Thus we know for certain that Augustine was familiar with, and could deftly use, the conventions of the ancient protreptic genre, including the use of the protreptic power of a conversion narrative. This means that when these devices appear, albeit in a much more mature and subtle guise, in the Confessions, we can assume that Augustine is consciously using them to send a message, and that he assumes his immediate readers to be perfectly capable of interpreting it. 2.1.4 Perspectives on Genre and the Unity of the Confessions Although this dissertation does not have the debate on the long-sought-for "unity" of the Confessions as its central concern, it must be clear that some light is also shed on this by the remarks above. Seeing the work from the perspective of a readership used to reading an (auto-) biographical narrative as the introduction to philosophical teaching and/or as a protreptic aimed at converting the reader or supporting her in her resolve through a personal 79 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za example before the start of the polemical-exegetical the problem of the unity of the Confessions argumentation, should change the way is approached. A reader from the privileged discourse community might have been more surprised to find an autobiography presented on its own than one followed by philosophical discussion and exegesis. More significantly, this reader would certainly have thought of the autobiographical section of the Confessions as a conversion story, and would not have expected anything similar to autobiography today. I argue, then, that Augustine's inclusion of an autobiographical partly protreptic. contemporaries would not have been surprised narrative in a bigger work with an overall purpose that was What might have surprised even members of the privileged community, though, was not the "adding on" of non-autobiographical quantity and the autobiography quality takes introspectiveness up at the of Augustine's autobiography. in the relation to whole and The discourse books but both the amount especially of the space degree the of it displays, in short that which constitutes the generic innovativeness of the Confessions, are its unprecedented qualities. It may well be that it is exactly this change in scale coupled with the convincing presentation of frankness and spontaneity Augustine effects in his autobiographical a counterproductive narrative that has had effect. Many readers, ancient and modern, became so fascinated by the man Augustine, that they failed to appreciate literary indications in the work as to how this autobiographical narrative should be read. In chapter 4 I discuss, for example, the many references implying that the reader should not read about the lives of others out of curiosity, but in order to improve herself. 2.2 The Audience of the Confessions 2.2.1 Intended Audience In the discussions of the protreptic genre above I have repeatedly touched on the issue of intended audience. This is the logical consequence of a definition that makes communicative purpose the primary indicator of what genre a text belongs to. Who does the Confessions aim to communicate with? And how does it aim to achieve this communication? It is clear that there are two interrelated but separate issues involved here. First, the question of who the original intended audience of the work was and how (also how successfully) the text communicated with these readers or hearers and, secondly, what the specific problems are for modern readers reading Augustine's text more that a millennium and a half later. 80 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za To treat the second issue first, let us go back to Swales' reference to the parent discourse community in the definition communicative of genre quoted above: "A genre comprises a class of events, the members of which share some set of communicative purposes. These purposes are recognized by the expert members of the parent discourse community" (1990, 58). It should be clear that one can speak of ancient literary texts as presupposing a highly sophisticated parent discourse community and that modern researchers are not expert members of this community. Only through very hard work can we hope to become expert enough to understand many of the codes, especially the generic codes operating on a partly subconscious level in these texts, knowing that some of these codes may remain indecipherable. Here the question of generic expectations comes into play. This is a complicated issue that I can only touch upon here, but important enough to merit some mention. Generic expectation can be described characteristics, as the audience's anticipation of finding certain pertaining to structure, style, topoi, etc. in a given text." that circumstances (prototypical) It should be clear can exist that may cause a modern audience to have a completely different expectation of a text than the original parent discourse community had and that this may have a profound effect on the reception of the text." I have already indicated in the survey of secondary literature above that I ascribe a good deal of the problems with the unity of the Confessions to the modern notion that the work is an autobiography and should comply with the modern expectations associated with this genre while for the original readers no comparable genre called autobiography and no equivalent set of expectations existed. This brings us to the first issue mentioned in the opening paragraph: the original intended audience of the Confessions. It is my opinion that our understanding of the literary qualities of the work can be greatly enhanced by an effort to discover as much as we can about generic expectations of its parent discourse community. Looking at the literary antecedents for the Confessions and trying to understand more about the literary climate within which it came into being, as I have tried to do above, is instrumental in achieving this. But, especially in the case of a protreptic text, because of its pronounced aim to reach or touch its chosen "In addition to purpose, exemplars of a genre exhibit various patterns of similarity in terms of structure, style, content and intended audience. If all high probability expectations are realized, the exemplar will be viewed as prototypical by members of the parent discourse community" (Swales 1990,58; my emphasis). 41 "Knowledge of the conventions of a genre ... is likely to be much greater in those who routinely or professionally operate within that genre rather than those who become involved in it only occasionally" (Swales 1990, 54-55). 42 81 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za audience in a far-reaching way, it is to be taken for granted that the whole presentation of the protreptic will be designed to fit a very particular audience (or audiences). Thus, information about this audience, gathered from external sources and coupled with the knowledge of this group that may be gained from the content, tone, and strategies of the text may greatly enhance our understanding of its contents." To return to the intended reader of the Confessions: literary theorists discern many levels of audience or readers that precede the "real historical" reader in distance to the text. For the present purposes it is enough to define the intended audience as a construct of the text, a kind of "ideal" reader that is presupposed by certain indications in the text. These indications can vary from direct mention of an individual or group as the addressee of a text, to the treatment of specialized subject matter that is particularly relevant to a specific group or groups, or a very subtle use of veiled nuances that can be understood only by expert members of a parent discourse community. The audience of the Confessions and the devices used in the text to reach this audience can be described without further technical concepts or terminology. It is a far less controversial subject than that of genre in general and the genre of the Confessions in particular and I can proceed without further theorizing to some remarks about the Manichean segment of Augustine's intended audience, the segment I show in chapters 3 and 5 remains foremost in Augustine's mind almost throughout the work. But before I go on to outline some issues relevant to Augustine's relationship with his Manichean audience, I want to repeat that it is imperative that the reader understands that I do not claim the Manicheans to be the sole intended audience of the Confessions. First, the discussion of the definitions of protreptic above indicated that in practice protreptic texts usually also fulfill a paraenetic function, that is, while they strive to move one section of their audience to conversion, they never lose sight of members of the audience that may already be converted but remained in need of constant encouragement and exhortation. This means that I do not disagree with those scholars who have over the years referred to Augustine's fellow-Christians as those addressed in the Confessions. They will, however, have to Thus, I have to agree in principle with Guerra's objection (1995, 11) that "Aune's indecisiveness over the question of the audience and purpose of Romans hinders his argument for reading the work as a protreptic." Guerra's combination of the separate but interrelated previously existing interpretive hypotheses on the genre and the audience of Romans, in the section aptly titled "Apologetic and audience: making the message meet" (1995, 1-3), displays in outline the same presuppositions and approach as the present study. Showing the Confessions to be a protreptic is an empty exercise when it is not complemented by some attention to the issue as to whom the protreptic was aimed at. 43 82 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za concede that also the potential Manichean reader constitutes an important segment of Augustine's target audience. Furthermore, one must take into account that, for rhetorical purposes, the speaker may assume the protreptic in books 1 to 9 to be successful, and proceed on this supposition from there through the last four books. This would mean that an already converted audience is envisaged in the last section whereas in books 1 to 9 the emphasis was on those who still needed to be converted. This is confirmed by my analyses presented in chapters 4 and 5. But, interestingly enough, towards the end of the Confessions Augustine's attention seems to return to those Manicheans still persisting in the non-Catholic way of thinking, so that the scale seems to tip once again in favour of protreptic rather than paraenetic. 2.2.2 Augustine's Manichean Audience I have indicated in my introduction that I intend to focus on the Manicheans as a significant part of the intended audience of the Confessions. In the discussion of secondary literature in chapter 1 I also concentrated on studies that have in the past argued for the importance of Manichean subject matter in the Confessions Manichean segment of his audience. and! or Augustine's The strongest concern with the support for my argument that the Manicheans are never far from the Augustine's thoughts as he writes the Confessions is gleaned from the analyses of the text that I report on especially in chapter 3 (on the Manicheans as the intended audience of the meditation on Ps 4 in Conf 9.4.7-11) and in chapter 5 (devoted as a whole to the issue of audience of the Confessions). But there are also a number of external factors that support an argument for the possibility or even probability of Augustine being acutely aware of his Manichean audience as he writes his Confessions. These are factors like the presence of Manicheans as an opposition group in Hippo, the ongoing polemic with members of the sect in public debates and published treatises, as well as the knowledge that a number of his friends, like Romanianus, won over to Manicheism by none other than himself, still clung to the doctrines he now passionately believes are erroneous. There are two reasons why I spend this section of the introductory chapter on expounding some basic background information on the Manicheans. First, many readers of the Confessions are not familiar with some of the aspects of Manicheism that are relevant in the analyses offered below and providing the information here in a systematic way avoids unnecessary repetition in the course of these analyses. Secondly, Manichaeism is a subject on which a considerable amount of new information has become available during the second 83 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za half of the previous century (inter alia through the discovery of Manichaean texts formerly only known through references and quotations by other authors). It should be clear that, only when the modern reader has acquired a basic amount of knowledge about Manichean dogma, literature, and religious practice, can she recognize those places in the Confessions where Augustine is addressing Manichean issues (mostly without making it explicit) or when he is echoing their literature. For a concise but complete overview of Manicheism the reader is referred to Samuel Lieu's Manichaeism in the Later Roman Empire and Medieval China (1985) and Van Oort's Mani, Manichaeism and Augustine: The Rediscovery of Manichaeism and Its influence on Western Christianity (1996), on which much of the following short introduction is based." Here, however, I concentrate only on those aspects of the religion that feature prominently in the analyses presented in chapters 3 and 5 of this dissertation." The Manichean religion, founded in the 3rd century AD by Mani, is often referred to by Manichean scholars as a "world religion" to indicate both how widely disseminated this religion was at some stage in its history and the long period of time during which it exerted an influence over large numbers of followers." Although scholars at the beginning of the previous century thought of Manicheism as a Persian religion with some Christian influences, it is now assumed to have been of Jewish-Christian origin with only superficial similarities to Persian religions. Augustine's involvement with Manicheism offers a useful perspective for illuminating those aspects of the religion that are relevant here.47 The fact that a passionate young man of high My first realization of the importance of a grasp of Augustine's relationship with Manicheism started with conversations with Prof. Van Oort in Stellenbosch in 1998. The understanding of Manicheism that forms the basis of the reading of the Confessions presented here was shaped to a large extent also by the various works of Van Oort, Decret, Ries, Feldmann and Bammel on Manicheism in general and in the Confessions. 44 For general and easily readable overviews of the Manichean system Gibb and Montgomery's Introduction (1927, ix-lxx) remains valuable. See also Koenen (1978); Bbhlig (1991), whose comparison between Plato and Mani provides concise information on the Manichean system; Scott (1995,70-94); and Van Oort's version in his Mani, Manichaeism and Augustine (1996). 45 Frend (1954, 859) remarks: "Both Donatism and Manichaeism were to last as long as Catholicism in North Africa." In the East Manicheism endured for many centuries longer. 46 For a discussion of the role of Manicheism in Augustine's thought, see Clark's "Vitiated Seeds and Holy Vessels: Augustine's Manichaean Past (1986); Wenning's "Der EinfluB des Manichaismus und des Ambrosius auf die Hermeneutik Augustins" (1990); Van Oort's "Augustinus en het Manicheïsme" (1993); Cary's "God in the Soul: Or the Residue of Augustine's Manichaean Optimism" (1994). See also Markus (1989) on Augustine's break with Manicheism. 47 84 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za intellectual ability joined the Manicheans in his philosophical search for "the Truth" that had nevertheless to satisfy an emotional need for the Christianity of his childhood, illustrates some of the basic attractions of Manicheism. The Manicheans flaunted an intellectualism which consisted mostly of a sharp criticism of other systems of belief rather than a positive exposition of their own dogma, while their pious repetitive use of the name of Christ (if the perception Augustine chooses to perpetuate is correct) and ascetic everyday demeanor appealed to the religiously minded on a different level. A large element in their success (both for attracting new adherents and for surviving periodical persecution) was their organization into small cells and house groups rather than in large church congregations. The influence of the warm reception and genuine friendships Augustine found in Manicheism must never be underestimated in what I see as a lifelong preoccupation with Manicheans, i.e. real friends who may have remained Manicheans. Another aspect that certainly prolonged Augustine's involvement with Manicheism was the mystery in which their teachings were veiled. The large masses of adherents, the Hearers of the sect, took part in regular liturgical activities of which the singing of hymns formed a large part, and in festivals of which the annual festival of Bêma was most prominent," and displayed a certain degree of ascetlclsm." But they did not have access to the dogma or religious practice of the Elect who maintained a rigorous vegetarian diet (the Manicheans believed that the eating habits of their elite helped in the process of liberating light particles from the matter in which they have become imprisoned), remained strictly celibate and had privileged access to the canonical writings of Mani. This may mean that even a gifted and prominent member of the sect, like Augustine, would have known Manichean dogma and cosmology only as it was expounded in the Manichean Psalms'" without a first hand knowledge of the theology or religious practice of the Manichean leaders, although Van Oort (2002, 15) argues that unmistakable echoes of some of the Manichean canonical works in Augustine's oeuvre makes it probable that he may have had more access to this body of literature than the ordinary auditor. Nevertheless, the large body of Manichean literature 48 On the Bêma festival see for example Ries, "La fête de Bêma dans l'Église de Mani" (1976). See Feldmann's "Christus-Frërnrnlqkelt der Mani-Junqer: Der suchende Student Augustinus in ihrem 'Netz'" (1980, 198) for a view on "was einem neu hinzukommenden und suchend Menschen 'optisch' und 'akustisch' begegnete, sobald er sich in eine Gemeinde Manis hineinbegab." 49 See for example Wurst (1991) and Ries (1995) on Bêma Psalm 223 and its dogmatic contents and similarities with the £pistula Fundamenti. 50 85 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za published in the well-refined manuscripts that the sect was known for, formed part of the intellectual attraction of this religion.51 Most striking in the Manichean set of beliefs, but also least consistent with the claim that with them reason preceded faith, was their spectacular mythological cosmology, which Mani asserted was known to him through divine revelation and which believers were expected to believe as the literal historical truth about the creation of the world. In the dualistic world-view expounded by this myth evil originates in the Realm of Darkness that, through an initial attack on the Realm of Light, necessitated the creation of the physical universe (as a means to free elements of the Light from evil matter with which it had become mixed) and remains in constant conflict with the latter.52 This myth, if the unscientific nature of its version of creation and the nature of the universe is ignored, offered a facile and satisfying explanation of the existence of evil in this world that at the same time made the individual less responsible for his sin. This does not mean that Mani denied the existence of sin and regular confession of sins remained an important liturgical activity, especially at the Bêma feast (Ries 1976, 223-226). Furthermore, Lieu (1985, 141) points out that in a system that made sin "external and therefore uncontrollable" it was only natural that astrology would be popular at least for the "premonition of the next onslaught of evil" it offered. It is this same interest in astrology that initially fascinated Augustine but eventually played an important part, through its lack of sophistication, in his disillusionment with Manicheism. For readers of the Confessions, familiar with Augustine's preoccupation with time in the eleventh book, it is also interesting to note the emphasis on time in the Manichean world view, where the whole of history is seen in terms of three eras or Moments, "(1) The Former Time, (2) The Present Time, (3) The Future Time" (Lieu 1985, 8). While the Manichean myth of creation refers to Adam and some Old Testament figures like Enoch, these characters and their stories differ greatly from those in the Jewish tradition (Lieu 1985, 122). Mani claimed to be an apostle of Jesus and the "earthly twin of the Paraclete" promised by Him (Lieu 1985, 53). Manicheism spoke of a Trinitarian God whom they purposely portrayed to lay members of the Catholic Church as the same as their Much of Manichean 1985,88). 51 literature was also translated from Syriac into Greek, Coptic and Latin (Lieu On Manichean dualism see for example Bianchi (1991) with references to earlier treatments of the subject. See also Ries (1990) on the dualistic nature of the creation myth and the nature of God in Manichean religion in general. 52 86 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Catholic God. But the similarities are superficial. Manichean Christology entailed the Jesus Splenditenens, the Jesus Patibilis as well as Jesus Christ, the historical Jesus, who in their theology was, however, never really born, had a "spiritual body" (Ries 1990, 766) and died only an apparent death. These concepts are completely foreign to Catholic Chrlstoloqy." The Manicheans thought of themselves as "Christians of the New Covenant" (Lieu 1985, 121) and rejected the Old Testament as a whole while they accepted only those parts of the New Testament that they believed could be defended by reason. The creator God portrayed in the Old Testament they deemed to be, among other things, too warlike and the behavior of Abraham and the Old Testament patriarchs they liked to expose as immoral. In the New Testament they were partial to the writings of Paul on whom Mani is thought to have consciously modeled himself in many respects (Lieu 1985, 40). During the last decade of the 4 th century a large amount of Augustine's energy was spent on a defence of the Catholic Bible against the Manichean attack. 54 In the time of Augustine's ministry in Hippo the Manicheans constituted a strong presence in North Africa and in Hippo.55 They were seen by many as just one of the numerous versions of Christianity existing in the Roman Empire during the late 4th and early 5th centuries AD.56 Though the Manicheans were (like some of the other Christian sects) seen by the Roman authorities as a potentially dangerous community, especially because of their secrecy and their perceived involvement with sorcery, and were banned by periodic decrees, there is little indication that Manicheans were actively persecuted during the nine years that Augustine was an adherent of the sect or during his period as presbyter and later as bishop of Hippo. One of the reasons why Manicheism proselytizing made its presence felt so strongly is the active and missionary zeal its adherents members of the Catholic congregations were known for. They targeted the lay and with their aggressive attacks on aspects of catholic dogma, and especially on the perceived immoral conduct of the Old Testament patriarchs, rather than positive arguments about their own system of belief, they tried to win On the Christological differences between Catholicism and Manicheism, see for example Ries (1990, 764-767); Viciano, "Aspects christologiques du 'Corpus Paulinum' (1991); Van Oort, "Augustinus en het manicheïsme" (1993); and Decret, "La christologie Manichéenne dans la controverse d'Augustin avec Fortunatus" (1995b). 53 54 55 et See the series of articles on this subject by Ries (1961, 1963 and 1964). For the Manicheans in North Africa see Decret, Essais sur I'Église manichéenne en Afrique du Nord a Rome au temps de saint-Augustine (1995a). 56 Koenen (1978, 163) points to the fact, referred to by Augustine. that the Manicheans thought of themselves as the real Christians. 87 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za members for their own sect. Augustine himself converted a number of his friends to Manicheism after becoming a Manichean in the course of his intellectual quest for the Truth triggered initially by his reading of Cicero's Hortensius. Because in daily practice a member of the Manichean Hearers could not easily be distinguished from his Catholic counterpart, people were often suspicious that some within the Catholic congregation might be there to infiltrate and weaken rather than out of conviction. Some scholars maintain that one of the reasons for the writing of the Confessions was suspicions and allegations against Augustine by some of his contemporaries that he was proclaiming to be Catholic while still a Manichean at heart." I hope that these observations may succeed in creating a clearer picture of those issues in the Confessions that would have special significance for a Manichean reader of the text. Of course, the message of the text could be deciphered on a certain level without an awareness of those matters that would be of special concern to a Manichean reader. I have indicated that I do not see the Manicheans as the sole intended audience. It must, however, also be granted that an effort to read the text with an eye on the way it could have been received by such a reader, can only enhance our understanding of the whole. Frend in his article "Manichaeism in the Struggle between Saint Augustine and Petilian of Constantine" (1954) on Petilian's accusations (in 400 AD) that Augustine was still a Manichean, also speaks of the Donatists' "suspicion that Catholicism in Numidia was not only a wilful and persecuting schism, but that it served as a cloak of respectability for the dreaded religion of the Manichees" (859). 57 88 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za PART 2: ANALYSES Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za CHAPTER 3: In medias res: COMMUNICATIVE PURPOSE AND AUDIENCE IN THE MEDITATION ON PSALM 4 I start my analyses of the text of the Confessions with a look at a short passage from Book 9 that has up to now not received the scholarly attention it deserves: Augustine's account in Conf9.4.8-11 of his reading of Ps 4 shortly after his conversion. It was a careful reading of this passage that first convinced me that the Manichean echoes in the Confessions were to be taken much more seriously than I had done up to then, and that the work displays an Augustine still intensely preoccupied with the salvation of the Manicheans.' for the cohesion of this dissertation It is important that the reader is made aware of the impact an understanding of this passage has on our reading of the rest of the work. The most important elements in the analysis offered here are the following: • a preoccupation with a potential Manichean reader permeates the passage; • Augustine addresses the Manicheans as directly as possible without completely breaking the prayer stance adopted throughout the rest of the Confessions; • the emotions displayed towards the Manicheans are so positive that the passage cannot rightly be called anti-Manichean; and • the communicative aim of the passage is protreptic. Before I proceed with the analysis of Conf 9.4.8-11 there are two issues that have to be considered. First, can we assume that the Manicheans would have read the Confessions? Courcelle (1968, 236-237) seems to believe that they did and that Secundinus, a prominent Manichean auditor, alludes to the Confessions in a letter to Augustine. I argue however, that the strongest evidence for the fact that Augustine expected (or at least This led to the publication of an article, "Reading Psalm 4 to the Manicheans," in Vigiliae Christianae 55 (2001) where I argue that this section of the work is, in fact, a protreptic directed at Augustine's Manichean audience. For this reason I repeat here the salient elements illuminated in the article. 1 90 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za hoped) that Manicheans (especially his erstwhile Manichean friends) would be among his readers is internal evidence. This becomes abundantly clear from the analysis in this chapter as well as the arguments presented in chapters 4 and 5 below. The other question concerns my assumption that Augustine uses an Old Testament text to base a protreptic to the Manicheans on, while we know that they rejected the entire Old Testament." I argue that Augustine attempts to illustrate that the meaning and the message of the psalm is echoed and reinforced by quotations from the New Testament, especially from books we know that the Manicheans were fond of quoting themselves. Where in Conf 9.4.8 the quotations are from the Psalms (Ps 4 and other psalms), in the next three sections, that bear the weight of the argument, quotations from the New Testament abound, especially from the books of Paul, the New Testament figure so popular with the Manicheans that Bammel (1993, 1) refers to him as "the apostle of the Manichees." chapter 5 I show that the technique of intertwining In texts from the Old an the New Testament in a way that illustrates how only one message is proclaimed by both parts of the Bible is, in fact, a technique Augustine uses repeatedly throughout the Confessions. In his presentation of the allegorical interpretation of the creation story in Genesis it is exactly through this technique that Augustine achieves one of the most important objectives of Conf 11 to 13, namely to redeem the Old Testament in the eyes of the Manicheans. It is also significant for our evaluation of the importance of the passage in 9.4.8-11 for our reading of the Confessions as a whole to note the dense texture created here by the abundance of scriptural quotations, a circumstance that marks the passage as an important one. This is indeed an instance of what Knauer (1955, 114-117) Zitatennester, the refers to as the use of a phenomenon which he found occurs at important or pivotal passages in Contessions? Thus, what we have here is a protreptic aimed at the Manicheans, located at the center of the work," and marked as a passage with a significant role within the whole. This seems to be the consensus in scholarship. See for example Ries 1961 (232): "Sous les coups répétés des sectateurs de Mani, tout l'Ancien Testament s'évanouit, du Nouveau il reste peu de choses." We do know that Faustus of Milev rejected the whole of the Old Testament (Allgeier 1930, 4). In 9.4.11 there is an explicit reference to the Manicheans' resistance to (large parts of) scripture: super inimicis scripturae huius tabescebam (the context makes clear that they are the enemies referred to). On the Manicheans' use of scripture, see also e.g. Ries (1961-1964); Wenning (1990, 80-89); Viciano (1991,379-389); Van Oort (1993,281-282) and 8ammel (1993). 2 3 Knauer does not analyse Conf9.4.8-11 in any depth. O'Donnell (1992, 3:91) seems to be asserting the importance of the central section of the work indirectly through his emphasis on the fact that the passage under discussion, Augustine's famous 4 91 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za I organize the analysis below in three sections. Chapter 3.1 examines the direct indications in the text of who the intended audience of the meditation is, while chapter 3.2 investigates the instances of captatio benevo/entiae, i.e. indications that Augustine strongly identifies with his audience, in a way that gives the passage a reconciliatory and non-polemical tone. Chapter 3.3 illustrates how the awareness of the use of Manichean terminology throughout the section changes our perceptions of its communicative purpose. 3.1 A Meditation Directed at a Manichean Reader Let us examine the meditation presented in Cont 9.4.8-11. In the first paragraph Augustine quotes Ps 4:2 as a kind of prologue. I argue that it has the function of setting up the 5 dramatic situation and unequivocally indicating who the intended audience is. After stating that he would want the whole world to hear him recite the psalm, Augustine narrows the focus down to the Manicheans explicitly: quam vehementi et acri dolore indignabar manichaeis. The association in Augustine's mind between Ps 4 and the Manicheans has been made clear, as well as the fact that what follows in this section has direct relevance for this group. Chadwick (1991) translates the sentence quoted above as "What vehement and bitter anger I felt against the Manichees!" Read like this, there is no trace of the positive emotion towards the Manicheans that I argue is characteristic of the passaqe." It is difficult to give a better rendition of this sentence but an examination of the Latin indicates that Chadwick's translation overemphasizes the element of anger while the idea of pain or sorrow, inherent in vehementi et acri d%re, is not given enough prominence. account of his reading of Ps 4, is situated almost at the exact midpoint of the Confessions. But other studies of ancient literary works come to the same conclusion about the importance of what is said at the center point of work. See for example Gaiser's study (1959) of Plato's early dialogues which focuses repeatedly on the midpoint of these works, especially in the section titled "Die Paranese in der Mitte des Gespráchs" (148-187), and which shows how this is usually where the most directly protreptic or paraenetic passages occur. See the analysis of the structure of the Psalm (in which he sees a reflection of the structure of the Confessions as a whole) by O'Donnell, (1992, 3:91). 5 6 Smuts (1986, 39-42) also comments on the emotional tone of Augustine's version of his encounter with Ps 4 in Conf9.4.8-11. 92 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za My interpretation of these words is validated by the references to pity, sickness and healing in the following sentence: Miserabar eos rursus, quod ilia sacramenta, ilia medicamenta nescirent et tnsem' essent adversus antidotum quo sani esse potuissent! [Also, I pitied them because they did not know those sacraments, those medicines. And they raged insanely against the antidote through which they could have become sane]." The insane rage of the Manicheans is not the main point here, but rather the possibility of their being healed from their insanity. What is more, the image of the healer caring for sick or injured humanity was one especially dear to the Mantcheans." It is developed extensively in one of their Bêma psalms," and certainly held strong positive connotations for them." Again, this makes the tone of the passage urgent and caring rather than sharp or accusatory." Chapter 2.2 has already pointed out that the imagery of sickness and healing may also be seen as part of the stock vocabulary of protreptic texts. The following lines of 9.4.8 are the most explicit indication that Augustine wants specifically the Manicheans to know how Ps 4 affected him, and ultimately how it should affect them: Vel/em ut alicubi iuxta essent tunc et, me nesciente quod ibi essent, intuerentur teetem meam et audirent voces meas, quando legi quartum psalmum ... quid de me teeent iIIe psalmus [I would have liked them to have been somewhere nearby then and to have observed my face and heard my cries when I read that fourth psalm, without me knowing that they were there, and to have seen what effect that psalm had on me]. 7 References to madness have become synonymous with the Manicheans in Conf 1 to 8 and the tone is usually derogatory. But in this context (with its references to the opposite sani and to antidotum) the emphasis is on sickness and the need for healing. 6 The translations given in the whole of chapter 3, including the translation of passages quoted from the psalm, are my own, a "working translation," designed only to meet the needs of the analysis in this chapter. I acknowledge, however, my debt to all translations I have read. 9 According to O'Donnell (1992,161), the imagery is used frequently by Augustine and was part of an effort of Christianity in North Africa "to combat the appeal of the cult of Asclepius." 10 Bêma Psalm 241, discussed by Ries (1976, 218-233). 11 Of course Augustine's usual negative use of insani is also evoked here, playing on the name of Mani/Manes, which meant demented. See for example Van Oort (1993, 239). 12 Gibb and Montgomery's introduction (1927, xxxii-xxxiii) also refers to "a gentleness and an elevation, rare in the theological controversies of Christian antiquity," which is at times discernible in Augustine's language because "he felt that having been himself a member of the sect, it became him to deal tenderly with those who had gone astray after the same fashion." 93 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za The subject of essent can only be the same as that of the main verbs of the last part of the previous sentence, the Manicheans. It is the Manicheans Augustine wishes could be listening and looking on and not any other group or even the whole world the statement at the beginning of the passage might have seemed to indicate. Moreover, he assumes that if they could in some way hear and see his emotional reaction without him knowing that they were there, they would be convinced of the sincerity of his emotions and not assume that he is staging an act for their benefit: Ne me propter se ilia dicere putarent quae inter haec verba dixerim [So that they would not think that I was saying the words I said in between the words of the psalm for their sake]. Why would Augustine wish this if not in the hope that his reactions would have communicated with the Manicheans in a manner that he has been unable to achieve up to now and make them turn away from their wrong way and towards his right way? If this is so the passage certainly has a protreptic communicative objective. The last section of 9.4.8 contains the quotation of the first words of the psalm 13 and sets up an interesting dramatic situation for the meditation that follows. Augustine's words here are, like the rest of the Confessions, addressed to God and at least formally presented as a private conversation without an audience. The Manicheans are not present at Cassiciacum (where this reading of Ps 4 takes place) as he would have wished them to be. So, the reactions portrayed are to be taken as just as genuine as they would be in such an intimate situation: Augustine alone before his God (which the vocative, pater, at the beginning of 9.4.9 poignantly evokes). Thus, the problems of inhibitions on both sides that he describes here, by implication, did not apply in the situation: Re vera nec ea dicerem nec sic ea dicerem, si me ab eis audiri viderique sentirem, nec, si dicerem, sic acciperent, quomodo mecum et mihi coram te de familiari affectu animi mei [And it is true that I would not have said those things and would not have said them in the same way, if I had known that I was heard and seen by them. And if I had said them, they would not have accepted them in the way I meant I will refer to this procedure as quotation although very often it is more a question of Augustine intertwining the words of the psalm into his own stream of consciousness, e.g. by changing verbs to the first person to pertain to himself or by changing imperatives to past tense indicatives to indicate how the psalm has had its effect on him. See O'Donnell (1992, 1: lxi). This is, according to Sieben (1977,484), one of only two instances where Augustine does quote directly from the Bible in the first 10 books of the Confessions. 13 94 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za them when I was speaking by myself and to myself in your presence and motivated by the intimate love for you in my heart]. This means that we have to assume that the opposite applies: the Manichean who reads now does "see" and "hear" Augustine's uninhibited reactions, not an act designed with the ulterior motive of influencing him or her." This also implies that this reader must now be affected by this passage in just the way Augustine had hoped he would be if his presence that day had gone undetected. This would of course meet exactly the ultimate objective of this master of rhetoric and is another argument for claiming that the passage has protreptic intent. Apart from the lines discussed above, there are two more almost explicit references to the intended audience of the meditation. The first is midway through, at the end of 9.4.9: Quae utinam audissent qui adhue usque diligunt vanitatem et quaerunt mendaeium: [Oh, if only they could have heard me, they who still up to this day love emptiness and seek lies]. The attentive reader must be aware, after reading Augustine's description of his encounter with the Manicheans in books 3 to 7, that the group consistently associated with emptiness and lies up to this point in the Confessions are the Manicheans. The next and last direct reference to the intended audience of Augustine's exegesis of Ps 4 (in 9.4.11) calls them deaf corpses and refers to their animosity towards scripture: Nee inveniebam quid faeerem surdis mortuis ... et super inimieis seripturae huius tabeseebam [I could not find anything that I could do about the deaf corpses ... I became sick because of their animosity towards these scriptures]. Earlier references in this passage as well as the fact that the Manicheans were known for their aggressive criticism of scripture make clear that they are the group inimiei refers to. What is more, I show in chapter 5 that breaking down Manichean resistance to scripture is one of Augustine's central objectives in the Confessions. The words surdis mortuis reflect the urgency to communicate with his Manichean audience as well as his frustration at the 14 See also my arguments in chapter 5 about the reasons Augustine may have had to (at least initially) hide the protreptic intention of his work. 95 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za lack of success discernable throughout the meditation." (The choice of the word tabescebam also expresses how strongly the Manicheans' unyielding attitude influences Augustine emotionally, almost physically even.) But the reference to deafness is also an articulation of what I call in chapter 5 the "history of failed communication" between these two parties." It is clear that in the passage quoted above Augustine's frustration allows some negative emotion to surface, but that the context once again softens the impact of any accusations he makes. The text emphasizes his ardent desire to do something to change the situation of the Manicheans exactly because he himself had been subject to the same error: Legebam, et ardebam nec inveniebam quid facerem surdis mortuis ex quibus fueram [I read, and I burned to do something, but I could not think what to do about these deaf corpses of whom I had been one]." Let us consider for a moment what the Manicheans would have heard and seen, if they had been present when Augustine read Ps 4. Although O'Donnell (1992, 3:94) correctly deduces that voces dedi is "not strictly evidence for 'reading aloud,'?" I think that the dramatic situation requires that he recite the words of the psalm out loud. Or, it would be more correct to say that he interspersed his reading of the psalm with his thoughts on the text, incorporating the words from scripture with his own." Apart from this there are also numerous references to emotional cries and changes to Augustine's outward appearance in the passaqe." 15 This same frustration is implied in 9.4.10: internum aeternum, quod ego quia gustaveram, frendebam, quoniam non eis poteram ostendere [The eternity within me, about which I, because I had tasted it, was gnashing my teeth because I could not show it to them]. 16 The discussion in chapter 5 refers to Augustine's efforts to convince the Manicheans of their errors in his anti-Manichean writings and the explicit formulation of his intention to use different tactics elsewhere. See Chidester's remarks (1986) on the themes of deafness and blindness that are developed throughout the Confessions and are presented inter alia as the symptoms Augustine had to be healed from before he could be converted. I borrowed the translation "deaf corpses" from Pine-Coffin (1961) because I cannot translate the phrase any better. 17 18 It is interesting to note that Miles (1992, 127) assumes this passage to represent "silent, private reading," while Stock (1996, 112) remarks on "his description of oral reading at 9.2-9.4.19." 19 Knauer (1955) remains the most coherent and full treatment of Augustine's varied techniques citing (the psalms) from scripture. of There are references to Augustine's facial expression and his cries in Conf 9.4.8: quas '" voces (twice); faciem meam; and voces meas. In 9.4.9 we have haec omnia exibant per ocu/os et vocem 20 96 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za It is clear already that Augustine's intended audience here are very specifically people still adhering to Manichean doctrines, but also that simply to describe the passage as antiManichean would fall short of the truth. The attack on Manichean doctrine takes secondary importance. The choice of words and the tone of the passage should have made the Manicheans forcefully aware that they are witnessing the concerned effort of a friend who cares deeply for them and who is trying desperately to turn them towards the right path." The other interesting element of Augustine's interpretation of the psalm is that in his reasoning the Manicheans are the intended audience of Ps 4. One of the most striking features of Augustine's meditation on this psalm is that he "discovers" there that the prophet (i.e. David) is specifically addressing the Manicheans (which is different from Augustine addressing them). The people he refers to in 9.4.9 can only be the Manicheans: Talibus dicitur qua/em me fuisse reminiscebar [It was addressed to the kind of people of whom I remembered that I had been one ]. The power and dramatic quality of these words become clear when they are read in context: Et c/amat prophetia, 'quousque graves corde? ut quid diligitis vanitatem et quaeritis mendacium? et scitote quoniam dominus magnificavit sanctum suum.' c/amat 'quousque', c/amat 'scitote', et ego tamdiu nesciens vanitatem di/exi et mendacium quaesivi, et ideo audivi et contremui, quoniam talibus dicitur qua/em me fuisse reminiscebar. in phantasmatis enim quae pro veritate tenueram vanitas erat et mendecium" [And the prophet calls out: 'how long will you harden your hearts? And why do you love emptiness and seek lies? And know that the Lord raised his Holy One to glory.' He calls 'How long?' He calls 'Know!' And for so long I did not know, and I loved emptiness and sought lies. And for this reason I heard these words and I trembled, because it was addressed to the kind of people of whom I remembered meam and insonui multa graviter ac fortiter and in 9.4.11 clamabam in consequenti alto cordis mei. versu clamore In chapter 5 I discuss the importance of the theme of friendship in book 4 of the Confessions and how this may have influenced the Manichean reader In his chapter on friends Brown (1967, 61) speaks about the "core of abiding friendships" that included many fellow-students who had followed Augustine into Manicheism. 21 22 Lines 11-17 of 9.4.9 in O'Donnell's text. 97 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za that I had been one. For in the fantastic ideas that I had clung to instead of the truth, were the emptiness and the lies].23 The use of quoniam and enim in the second part of this section clearly indicates how Augustine interprets the words of the psalm as pertaining directly to the kind of errors he has associated with Manichean doctrine up to this point in the Confessions. The last sentence explicitly underscores this: the emptiness and lies the prophet talks about in Ps 4 equal (Manichean) phantasmata. Apart from addressing the Manicheans by name and using a non-confrontational tone, there are two other important devices Augustine employs in this passage to enhance his communication with them. First, he identifies with his audience, taking on himself too the blame for all he accuses them of and, secondly, he makes repeated use of Manichean vocabulary in a bid to arrest their attention, while at the same time giving these terms new (Catholic Christian) content." 3.2 Identification with a Manichean Audience We have seen that Augustine has more than once implied concern and sympathy for the Manicheans. I have already referred to his use of the image of the healer caring for the sick and the serious effort expressed in the phrase surdis mortuis, used near the end of the meditation. In this category belongs also his repeated identification with his audience, the castigation of himself for the mistakes he has made, i.e. the mistakes they are still making. In 9.4.9 for example Augustine hammers on vanitatem et mendacium, terms closely associated with Manichean error in the preceding books of the Confessions, as I have indicated. But the intent of the passage is not invective. Rather, it is presented as a personal confession of sins: Dilexeram enim vanitatem et quaesieram mendacium ... vanitatem di/exi et mendacium quaesivi et ideo audivi et contremui [For I had loved emptiness and 23 In Conf 3.6.10 (where Augustine's falling in with the Manicheans is described and where phantasmata or phantasmatis occur four times) the word phantasma stands for Manichean doctrine, more than any other single word or concept. 24 See also Van Oort's remarks (1997, 243) on this occurrence. 98 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za sought lies ... I have loved emptiness and sought lies and therefore I heard these words and I trembled]. Did Augustine tremble at the realization of how nearly he himself had been lost, or is his apprehension yet another sign of an emotional preoccupation with the Manicheans' spiritual salvation? Against the background of my analysis so far it is clear that the latter is a strong possibility. The section from 9.4.9 already quoted above also illustrates Augustine's identification with his audience. It is phrased as a wish: Quae utinam audissent qui adhuc usque diligunt vanitatem et quaerunt mendacium [Oh, if only they could have heard me, they who still up to this day love emptiness and seek lies]. The key word is usque. The Manicheans are the ones who still love emptiness and lies, but Augustine himself knows exactly what this feels like, especially now that he has progressed beyond this stage. The wish is followed by a postulation of what Augustine believes would have happened if the Manicheans had witnessed his meditation: Forte ... evomuisset iIIud, et exaudires eos cum clamarent ad te [Perhaps they would have become upset and spewed out these lies, and You would have answered them when they called to You]. The words derive an added dimension in the light of Augustine's dramatic depiction of himself doing precisely this in the preceding books of the Confessions: Books 7 and 8 describe his final rejection of Manichean ideas and the answering, at last, of his persistent cries to God (and God's cries to him) in the scene of final surrender portrayed in 8.12.29. Auqustlne ends the meditation on Ps 4 with a last identification with his audience in the section already quoted from 9.4.11: Nec inveniebam quid facerem surdis mortuis ex quibus fueram [I could not find anything I could do about these deaf corpses of whom I had been one]. Although their attitude towards scripture now makes him sick, he takes upon himself the shame for what he is accusing them of: (Ego) pestis latrator amarus et caecus adversus litteras [I had been a pestilence, barking bitterly and blindly against scripture]. 99 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Thus, Augustine makes sure that the meditation also ends with a clear indication that he is not criticizing from a position of moral superiority but earnestly warning against errors he himself has been freed from. 3.3 The Use of Manichean Terminology The next aspect to be examined is the striking degree to which Augustine uses Manichean terminology and the frame of reference of Manichean religious practice in order to penetrate the defenses of a potential Manichean reader. I will treat at some length the references to the Holy Spirit in 9.4.9 and the discussion of sin and repentance in 9.4.10. This is followed by a some remarks on Augustine's use of the imagery of light and darkness, culinary imagery, phrases of calling and answering and superbia in the passage as a whole. In 9.4.9 paracletum, important "Manichean spiritum veritatis ("the paraclete, category" the spirit of truth") is the most used. The Manicheans saw Mani as the paraclete promised by Jesus, and the phrase "Mani, the paraclete, spirit of Truth" occurs frequently in their liturgical texts (Decret 1993, 271). They also emphasized a trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit and although this differed radically from the Christian doctrine of the trinity, they went so far as to exploit the (superficial) similarity in a deliberately propagandistic way in an effort to win over other Christians to their sect (Decret 1993, 268). It is significant that this is one of the few places outside his anti-Manichean works where Augustine uses the term paracletus, which he usually avoided inter alia because it was, according to O'Donnell (1992, 3:97), loaded with Manichean "claims and practices.?" This confirms my thesis that Augustine is in this specific instance consciously using loaded terms and phrases familiar to the Manicheans in order to arrest their attention. Here the phrase paracletum, spiritum veritatis occurs in a section where Augustine describes how he found in the psalm (Ps 4:3) the words he has already used throughout O'Donnell (1992, 3: 97) says about this issue: "A. uses paracletus rarely outside his antiManichean works ... first, because it probably did not appear in his NT translations ... and second, to avoid a word complicated by Manichean claims and practice." 25 100 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za the Confessions to describe the errors of Manichean ways:26 vanitatem et menoecium" These words have also been associated consistently with his own previous inability, under influence of Manichean doctrine, to conceive of God as a spiritual being. The two-word combination is repeated no less than six times (only once changed into the nominative) in the course of 9.4.9, both before and after the phrase paracletum, spiritum veritatis. It is clear that Augustine sees the solution to the problem of vanitatem et mendacium as connected with the "Spirit of Truth." In Ps 4 the reference to vanitatem et mendacium (in verse 3) is followed by the words et scitote quoniam magnificavit dominus sanctum suum [And know that the Lord has raised 28 It is clear that this evokes for Augustine the "correct" up his holy One] in verse 4. conception of what Christ was and by implication the solution to the problem of believing in a "false" Jesus, i.e. in emptiness and lies. He explains that he had believed in emptiness and lies because he had not known that God had done three important and related things: He had raised Christ from the dead, He had put Him at his right hand and Christ had sent the Holy Spirit. The three points are not present in this form in the psalm but are evoked for Augustine by the words of verse 4, et scitote quoniam magnificavit dominus sanctum suum. These words he incorporates into his own, followed by the three points as an interpretative elaboration: Et tu, domine, iam magnifica veras sanctum tuum, (1) suscitans eum col/ocans paracletum, ad dexteram tuam, (3) unde mitteret spiritum veritatis [And you, 0 a mortuis et (2) ex alto promissionem suam, Lord, had already raised up your Holy One, (1) by raising Him from the dead and (2) placing Him at your right hand. (3) And thence, from on high he sent Him he had promised, the paraclete, the spirit of truth]. What we have here are the main differences between the Christology of Catholic doctrine and that of the Manicheans. Especially the emphasis on Christ's death and resurrection is meant to speak directly to the Manicheans who did not believe in the incarnation, death and resurrection of Christ. 26This is what he implies. The possibility exists however that the discovery of these terms in the psalm predates his use of them in the Confessions. '27 The text of the psalm used here is O'Donnell's (1992, 3: 91-92) very useful reconstruction. The NRSV translation of this phrase, "but know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself," shows that radically different readings are possible. My translation is, however, consistent with Augustine's interpretation in 9.4.9. 28 101 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za This point is again present at the end of 9.4.9: Quoniam vera morte carnis mortuus est pro nobis [Because he died the true death of the flesh for us]. It is clear that also this part of Augustine's interpretation of Ps 4 has a very pointed relevance for the dialogue between him and the Manicheans. The next verse of the psalm (verse 5) is treated at the beginning of 9.4.10. Its reference to repentance over sin, irascimini et nolite peccare ... et ... compungimini [Be angry and do not sin ... and ... be stung (by remorse)], offers Augustine the platform to the next set of Manichean terms and the other important issue over which he has had to think his way out of Manichean doctrine (in Book 7) before he could finally be converted. The individual himself was responsible for the sins he committed and not some other power over which he had no control: lam didiceram ira sci mihi de praeteritis, ut de cetero non peccarem, et merito irasci, quia non alia natura gentis tenebrarum de me peccabat, sicut dicunt qui sibi non irascuntur et thesaurizant sibi iram in die irae et revelationis iusti iudicii tui! [I had already learnt to be angry with myself over my sins of the past, so that I would sin no more. And I was angry deservedly, because it was not some other nature from the race of darkness that sinned in me, as those say who are not angry over their sins (deservedly). And they are storing up anger against themselves on the day of anger and of the revelation of your true judgment]. He urges the Manicheans to repent and confess their sins and even insinuates that because of their refusal to repent, they will be punished on the day of final judqrnent." Near the end of this section Augustine wishes that the Manicheans might ask him what to do to be saved and emphasizes again, as if in answer, his own repentance exchange of his old sinful nature for the new: and the 30 Si afferent ad me cor in oculis suis (oris a te et dicerent, 'quis ostendet nobis bona?' ibi enim ubi mihi iratus eram, intus in cubili ubi compunctus eram, ubi secriticeverem mactans 29 vetustatem meam in inchoata meditatione renovationis meae ibi mihi The final day of reckoning was a concept familiar to the Manicheans. See for example Ries (1976, 226). This is another concept familiar to the Manicheans, based on their reading of Paul: "Faustus' understanding of anthropology and of conversion is illuminated by Pauline verses which contrast the old man and the new man" (Bam mel 1993, 6). 30 102 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za du/cescere coeperas et dederas /aetitiam in corde meo [If only they would turn their hearts to me through their eyes that were outside of you, and would say 'Who will show us where our salvation lies?' For there where I was angry with myself, inside in my inner room, where I felt remorse, where I had sacrificed, slaying myoid self and where I started the meditation that was to cause my renewal, there You had started to be sweet to me and You had given me joy in my heart]. 31 What gives this passage added significance is the fact that Augustine is once again talking to the Manicheans in terms and categories familiar to them, but at the same time pointing out exactly where their errors lie. Recognition of the need for forgiveness, repentance and regular confession of sins formed an integral part of Manichean ritual, as is shown clearly in Ries' article, "La fête de Bêma dans l'Église de Mani" (1976, 223-226; and 229-230). We also know that Augustine would have been thoroughly aware of this fact after his nine years as a practicing auditor with the Manicheans (Van Dort 1993, 278; 1996,41-45). can he then accuse them of a lack of confession Augustine's interpretation of trescimmi" and repentance? How The key lies in and in the word mer ito, as well as the phrase following it in the first sentence of 9.4.10. He implies here that real repentance depends, firstly, on a real anger at yourself for your own responsibility in sinning. Secondly, it depends on a true conception of what evil is, the question whose Manichean answer had drawn him to them initially but which he has since learnt to answer differently. Thus he makes a direct link between confessing and the confessor's concept of evil: Merito irasci, quia non alia natura gentis tenebrarum de me peccabat, sicut dicunt qui sibi non irascuntur [I was angry deservedly, because it was not some other nature from the race of darkness that sinned in me as those say who are not angry over their sins (deservedly)]. The answer to the unde malum question was one of the most essential differences between Augustine and the Manicheans and an issue that has been one of the main streams in the preceding narrative of the Confessions. The way Augustine interprets Ps 4 makes repentance and confession and, by implication, the question about evil one of its 31 Modern interpreters find this verse of the psalm problematic, but Augustine's interpretation in his Ennarationes in Psalmos seems to me to justify my translation here. That this word (as well as its form, imperative) is problematic, becomes clear when it is compared to the Hebrew original and when different translations and commentaries on this verse of the psalm are taken into account. It is clear, however, that Augustine interprets it almost literally in the repetitions of the word in the rest of Con' 9.4.10. This also allows him the word play in qui sibi non 32 irascuntur et thesaurizant sibi iram in die irae. 103 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za central points. Thus, in Augustine's eyes the psalm addresses two of the most important issues in Manichean doctrine that he finds unacceptable: their Christology and their beliefs about evil.33 The next aspect of paragraph 10 that I want to look at briefly is its references to light. For Augustine the word lumen in verse 7 of the psalm is heavy with the meanings associated with it in previous parts of the Confessions as well as with Manichean connotatlons:" Signatum est in nobis lumen vultus tui, domine [The light of your face is imprinted in us, 0 Lord]. It is also still a part of the answer to the question about the nature of evil, of the universe and of God. As I have indicated, the terms lumen and tenebrae played a prominent role in the dualistic cosmology of the Manicheans where they referred to the Realm of Light and the Realm of Darkness respectively. But it is especially their belief that the souls of both humans and animals consisted of light particles that derived from the substance of God himself that is on the table here. Augustine's interpretation of the phrase signa tum est in nobis lumen vultus tui, domine in the Ennarationes in Psalmos is in general terms," but his explanation in Conf 9.4.1 0 is yet another feature of this meditation designed explicitly to speak about Manichean error: Non enim lumen nos sumus quod inluminat omnem hominem, sed inluminamur a te ut, qui fuimus aliquando tenebrae, simus lux in te [For we are not the light which illuminates all men, but we are illuminated by You, so that we who were darkness before, can become light in YoU].36 33Markus (1990, 913-925) sees Augustine's rejection of the Manichean explanation of evil as the most important step in his break with Manicheism. See Chidester (1986, 120 and 126-129). It is also interesting to note that the book with the most references to lux or lumen (7 occurences) is Book 7 where conceptual differences with the Manicheans are hammered out intensively. 34 In his Ennarationes in Psalmos he gives an allegorical explanation: hoc lumen est totum hominis et verum bonum, quod non ocu/is sed mente conspicitur. 'signatum' autem dixit 'in nobis', tamquam denarius signatur regis imagine. 35 36 Chidester (1986) is especially illuminating on the differences between the Manicheans and Augustine as far as the exact status and role of light in their religions are concerned. Augustine's words here are also a repetition of the main ideas he has already expressed in book 8.10.22 where he addresses the Manicheans in a direct protreptic statement: attendite, quid dicatis, et erubescite et accedite ad eum et iIIuminamini. 104 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Further, it is interesting to note how Augustine combines in this passage also the culinary imagery used throughout the Confessions with Manichean terminology. It is conceivable that the Manichean doctrine surrounding food and eating and the eating ritual of their elect were subconsciously (or probably even deliberately) influencing Augustine's use of imagery here. He speaks (in 9.4.10) about the Manicheans licking visual images that did not satisfy their hunger, imagines temporal eorum famelica things and their thoughts cogitatione lambiunt [they lick the images of remain hungry];37 not eating (certain foods), 0 si fatigentur inedia [oh, if only they would become tired of fasting]; about having tasted eternity inside himself, 0 si viderent internum aeternum, quod ego ... gustaveram [oh, if only they could see the eternity within me, that I ... had tasted]; and he speaks about not wanting to devour or be devoured by transient temporal things, devorans tempora et devoratus temporibus [devouring the temporal and being devoured by the temporal]. while he had the real food of God's word at his disposal, cum haberem ... aliud frumentum et vinum et oleum [while I had ... other corn and wine and oil]. Less obvious, terminology but certainly surrounding present throughout the tochme-sotme this passage is also the Manichean pair, referring to God's calling and man's answering (and vice versa), that was central in Manichean ritual (Ries 1976, 224-225).38 When the vital role of tochme-sotme within Manichean song and liturgy is taken into account, it seems improbable that Augustine's references to calling and answering in the Confessions are accidental. In 9.4.8 Ps 4:1 is quoted: Cum invocarem, exaudivit me deus iustitiae meae [When I called, the God of my righteousness answered me]. In 9.4.9 Augustine tries to convince the Manicheans that the psalm is calling to them personally and assures them of God's welcoming reaction: Clamat prophetia ... clamat quousque, clamat scitote ... et exaudires eos, cum clamarent ad te [The prophet calls out ... he calls out 'how long still?' and he calls out 'know' ... and You will answer them when they call out to You]. 37According to Chadwick (1991, 161) this is a reference to Plotinus. 38Van Oort (1996, 52) also believes that the emphasis on "God's clamare and his vox and vocatio" in the Confessions must be "compared with the pivotal role of the Manichaean Call and Answer." 105 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za The analyses in chapter 4 demonstrate how the theme of calling and answering becomes a Leitmotiv in the Confessions, one that is closely associated with the protreptic purpose of the whole. God, and his whole creation, is constantly calling man towards the ultimate rest that is possible only in Him. The reader is repeatedly assured of God's enduring presence and his willingness to answer, to receive with open arms whoever turns to Him and calls his name. The last aspect to be looked at in the analysis of the meditation on Ps 4 is the use of terminology concerning the concept superbia. Chidester (1986) proposes a convincing argument for seeing Augustine's presentation of his conversion as a conversion from pride to humility. We know that in the Confessions the Manicheans are consistently accused of pride. Thus, the conversion from pride to humility runs parallel to the conversion from Manicheism to Catholicism. Here, Augustine describes the purpose of Ps 4 as to provide "an antidote against pride." In the paragraph immediately preceding the meditation (9.4.7) there are references to superbia and the contrast between (proud) cedars and (humble) herbs, and also the use of the verbs perdomueris [You tamed] and subegeris [You subjected]. The first mention of the psalms of David in 9.4.8 is in terms of their resistance to pride: Psalmos David, cantica fidelia, son os pietatis excludentes turgidum spiritum [The psalms of David, songs of faith, sounds of piety, that shut out an inflated spirit]. A few lines further Augustine indicates that he would like to recite Ps 4 to the whole of humanity adversus typhum generis humani [against the pride of the human race]. It is clear that, even though this is not obvious from a superficial reading of Ps 4, he sees it as a strong warning against pride and thus also in this respect addressing a central Manichean weakness. To end this chapter, let us take a quick look at the last section of the meditation. Book 9.4.11 is an exegesis of the two final verses of the psalm: In pace, in idipsum obdormiam et somnum capiam, quoniam tu, domine, singular iter in spe constituisti me [May I go to sleep in peace in God Himself and fall into a deep sleep, because You, 0 Lord, have created me for your one eternal hope]." Once again, my translation is based on Augustine's interpretation of the verse in Ennarationes Psalmos and not on modern interpretations. 39 106 in Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za It has as its main theme the eschatological peace, which is the ultimate goal of the searching soul, that has been foreshadowed in 1.1.1 (et inquietum est cor nostrum, donec requiescat in te [And our heart is restless, until it finds rest in You]) and with which Book 13 ends: Post ilia nos requieturos in tua grandi sanctificatione speramus ... quoniam tua quies tu ipse es [We hope that after this life we will rest in your great sanctification ... because the rest that comes from You is You yourself]. The climax of the meditation has been reached. Augustine seems fully focused on God alone, repeating the personal pronoun as though in an invocation: Et tu es idipsum valde, ... et in te requies ... nul/us alius tecum ... quod tu, sed tu, domine, ... [And You are Himself ultimately ... and in You there is rest ... there is none other besides You ... because You, but only You, Lord ... ]. These first seven lines of 9.4.11 would have been a perfectly fitting end to an ecstatic meditation and communication with God, but it is important to note that Augustine does not end here. The end of the passage on his reading of Ps 4 is the sentence, referred to above, where he states his despair at being unable to reach the audience he has been speaking to throughout 9.4.8-11, the surdis morluis. Like the conclusion to the Confessions as a whole (see chapter 5) the conclusion to the meditation on Ps 4 is a last attempt (within the parameters of this small-scale protreptic) to turn around his audience, and constitutes a neat framing of the meditation by another explicit reference to its intended audience, the Manicheans, as well as a reinforcement of the protreptic purpose of the unit. Thus, as I said at the beginning of this chapter, the reader who submits herself to a careful reading of Augustine's meditation on Ps 4 has to concede that the aim to convert a potential Manichean reader to Catholic views is unmistakably present here. How does this influence our understanding of the Confessions as a whole? First, Augustine is spending a lot of space on the Manicheans here at the midpoint of the Confessions, while the need to hasten and tell only the most important events has been stressed just before the start of this passage: Quando mihi sufficiat tempus commemorandi omnia magna erga nos beneficia in iIIo tempore praeserlim ad alia maiora properanti? (9.4.7) [When willi have enough time to recount all your great and generous actions towards me at that time, especially because I have to hasten on to more important matters?] and is implicitly repeated immediately after it: 107 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Quando recordabor omnia dierum iIIorum feriatorum? (9.4.12) [When shall I recall everything that happened in that holiday period?]. Secondly, the passage is marked, by the Zitatennester, as a pivotal point in the Confessions. The indications are that what is treated here may have importance for the Confessions as a whole. And this is confirmed by the analyses presented in chapters 4 and 5 where I show that the communicative purpose and the segment of the intended audience so prominent in 9.4.8-11 remain uppermost, almost throughout, in the mind of the narrator of the Confessions. 108 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za CHAPTER4: Sic inveniefur. PROTREPTIC PURPOSE The analysis in the previous chapter of the meditation on Ps 4 in book 9 served as an in medias res introduction to the analyses of the Confessions offered here and has as its aim to convince the reader that both protreptic purpose and a strong focus on the Manichean segment of Augustine's audience are present in the Confessions. Chapters 4 and 5 constitute a more analytical implementation of the theoretical agenda set up in chapter 2, with chapter 4 focusing on the expression of protreptic purpose throughout the Confessions and chapter 5 on indications of the importance of the Manichean audience throughout. This strategy facilitates the argumentation but also contributes to a fragmentation of what the text offers. Where too much duplication or fragmentation would be involved by keeping the arguments about protreptic purpose apart from those about audience when a specific passage is analysed, I move away from this broad categorization. In chapter 4 I often discuss matters pertaining to audience while chapter 5 is of necessity still concerned with protreptic purpose. Indeed, one of the strongest preoccupation protreptic and interchangeably arguments for seeing the text as a protreptic is its with its audience. In chapter 2 I pointed to the fact that though the terms paraenetic are technically not the same, they have been used in ancient times and later. The most important difference between the two terms does not lie in the subject matter of the genre they refer to or to the techniques and devices used in this genre, but in the relationship between the speaker/ writer and the audience: protreptic speaks to the not-yet-converted, a life-changing whom it attempts to convince to make choice, and does not assume the audience to have a positive attitude towards the speaker. Paraenetic speaks to the already-converted, about the same life- changing choice, but which has presumably already been made. It exhorts the audience to persist in the chosen course in spite of difficulties and does assume a positive attitude of the audience towards the speaker. It is clear that the very nature of Christian life makes the co-existence of protreptic and paraenetic elements in their texts almost natural. In the analyses presented below I argue that in books 1 to 9 of the Confessions protreptic purpose dominates (but not with the exclusion of all paraentic intention) while in books 10 to 13 paraenetic concerns seem to be uppermost in the speaker's mind (but once again not with the total exclusion of protreptic purpose). This is bound up closely with the kind of 109 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za subject matter treated in the different sections, the kind of concerns with the audience expressed in the narrative and the way in which the speaker exposes himself to his readers, as I hope to illustrate in the discussion of protreptic purpose in this chapter as well as in the discussion of audience-related issues in chapter 5. Further, if books 1 to 9 successfully fulfills a protreptic communicative purpose, another reason exists to expect a change after this section: Augustine's conversion story has come to a dramatic conclusion in book 8 and was duly wound down in book 9; if the reader has been induced to pray along with Augustine and eventually to make the same commitments, that is, if the protreptic has been effective, one may assume that from book 10 onwards a different reader may be the primary focus of the narrative: an already (if recently) converted reader, or at least a reader convinced of the merits of trying to follow Augustine's way of reaching God. The focus of chapter 4 is the author's implicit or explicit articulation of protreptic-paraenetic intention. I start with some observations on indications of protreptic purpose in the opening paragraph of the Confessions (4.1). This is followed by an examination of the discrepancies in the speaking voice in the prologue as a whole and in a passage from Book 4, in the section "persona and protreptic purpose" (4.2). Chapter 4.3 shows how allusions to Matt 7:7 are used throughout the Confessions as a vehicle for the expression of protreptic purpose; section 4.4 is an effort to indicate how pervasive the expression of protreptic purpose remains throughout the Confessions, while chapter 4.5 takes a look at the role the Horlensius and the conversion stories in book 8 play in providing the reader of the Confessions with clues as to how this text itself should be read. The last section of this chapter (4.6) examines the protreptic-paraenetic characteristics of the allegorical exposition of the creation story in Genesis in book 13. 4.1 Indications of Protreptic Purpose in the Opening Paragraph of the Confessions If protreptic intent is important in the work as a whole, as the analysis of the passage from book 9 indicates, foreshadowing it may be expected, on the basis of the pervasive technique of in the prologues of ancient literature (amongst others in Virgil, whom we know Augustine knew and loved), to find some indication of this in the opening lines of the Confessions. Is there anything in Conf 1.1.1 to indicate that what follows may be a protreptic text? I will attempt to show why I think that the underlying progression in this 110 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za paragraph foreshadows the progression of the Confessions as a whole in a way that supports my argument that this whole may be read as a protreptic. 1 First, I want to argue that the text starts by constituting the tension between what (or where) man is and what (or where) he should be, and that this is the basic tension that exists in a protreptic text." The Confessions start with a eonfessio laudis; Augustine proclaims the greatness and praiseworthiness of God: Magnus es, domine, et laudabilis valde. magna virtus tua et sapientiae tuae non est numerus ['You are great, Lord, and highly to be praised (Ps 47:2): great is your power and your wisdom is immeasurable' (Ps 146:5)]. Then the focus shifts to man who makes known his desire and his intention to praise this God. The smallness and inadequacy of man is contrasted with the greatness of God: Et laudare te vult homo, aliqua portio ereaturae tuae, et homo eireumferens mortalitatem suam, eireumferens testimonium peeeati sui [Man, a little piece of your creation, desires to praise you, a human being 'bearing his mortality with him' (2 Cor. 4:10), carrying with him the witness of his sin]. The following phrase introduces even more tension into this equation: Et testimonium, quia superbis resistis [And the witness that you 'resist the proud' (1 Pet. 5:5)]. Man tends to be unaware of his own inadequacy, man is proud. And God does not allow the proud to find Him. The next sentences confirm what is implicit in the above: man will not be allowed to maintain this status quo. God incites him to want to praise Him and he will not find rest before the tension has been resolved. This is expressed poignantly in perhaps the most famous phrase from the Confessions: Et inquietum est cor nostrum, donee requieseat in te [And our heart is restless until it rests in you]. The second leg of my argument rests on the fact that two of the texts alluded to in the closing lines of 1.1.1 are texts that play a prominent role in the expression of protreptic 1 Although the prologue of the Confessions is usually seen as the section from 1.1.1 to 1.5.6, and although important themes are put into circulation in the rest of this section, I analyze here only the first paragraph. More is said about the rest of the prologue in 4.2 below. See O'Donnelis' early analysis (1985, 83-87) of the opening chapters of the Confessions reading that I find in many respects complementary to my own. 2 111 for a Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za purpose throughout the Confessions. The first is the allusion to Romans 10 (O'Donnell 1992, 2: 15), a text both Aune (1991) and Guerra (1995) argue is a protreptic.' The allusion becomes even more significant in the light of the fact that the book of Romans is quoted at key points throughout book 8 (the book of the conversion, see 0' Donnell 1992, 3:3) and the last three books of the Confessions (see my discussion in 4.6 and 5.3 and 5.4 below). If Augustine's readers thought of this text consciously or subconsciously as a protreptic text, it is clear that the prominence of allusions to this book may have influenced their perception of the generic make-up of the Confessions. What is more, the very text Augustine reads, which enables him to take the final step and be converted, is a text from Romans (Rom. 13). The second text introduced in 1.1.1 and which I argue in 4.3 below plays a significant role in the expression of protreptic purpose throughout the Confessions, is Matt 7:7. This verse is here alluded to very indirectly: Laudabunt dominum qui requirunt eum: quaerentes enim inveniunt eum et invenientes laudabunt eum ['They will praise the Lord who seek for Him' (Ps 21 :27). In seeking Him they find Him, and in finding they will praise Him]. But its presence obtains added importance in the light of its prominence later in the work. The images from Matt 7:7 become an important vehicle for the expression of protreptic intent as I show in 4.3 below. The fact is that Matt 7:7 in itself may be viewed as a miniature protreptic, in the sense that they urge the listener to take action that will result in important change: Petite et dabitur vobis: quaerite et invenietis: pulsate et aperietur vobis [Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you]. Apart from a strong presence throughout the work this text is recapitulated in the very closing words of the Confessions. This too lends considerably more weight to these words in the prologue and the thread they form throughout the Confessions. Thirdly, the last two questions in the series of questions in 1.1.1 introduce a new roleplayer: the praedicator, and then a praedicator with the specific function of helping his audience to start believing, i.e. to be converted: Ferrari also points towards the literary influence of Paul's letter to the Romans in the Confessions. It becomes especially prominent in book 8, and in his opinion (1987,44) Romans 7:14-25 "seems to have been the inspirational source of the self-revelationary character of the Confessions." 3 112 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Quomodo autem invocabunt, in quem non crediderunt? Aut quomodo credunt sine praedicante? [Yet 'how shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe without a preacher?' (Rom 10:14)]. This direct quotation from the book of Romans states the need of a praedicator in the process of conversion. The concept of the praedicator is touched upon three times in the last seven lines of the paragraph. First we have the quotation of Paul's words, referring to everyone who preaches the Gospel. The next mention occurs in the section where Augustine has for the first time actually moved to a personal confession in first person singular verbs (although others still seem included) and part of this confession is that he (and others) believe because someone has preached to them: Quaeram te, domine, invocans te et invocem te credens in te: praedicatus enim es nobis [Lord, I would seek you, calling upon you - and calling upon you is an act of believing in you. You have been preached to us]. Lastly, I find it also significant that paragraph 1 ends with the idea of the praedicator. Augustine calls this praedicator God's own preacher, praedicatoris tui. Here, I prefer Courcelle's suggestion (contra Chadwick 1991, 3) that praedicatoris tui refers to Christ, because this gives us a neat progression at the end of 1.1.1. First, the praedicator Paul talks about in Rom 10, i.e. anybody (sent by God) who proclaims the word of God (quomodo credunt sine praedicante?); then, the specific praedicator or praedicatores who were co-responsible for Augustine's conversion, e.g. Ambrose or the conversion stories told by Simplicianus and Ponticianus (praedicatus enim es nobis); and lastly, the ultimate God-given praedicator, the filius Dei, who teaches through his own example, per humanitatem, and whom Augustine shows in book 7 to be the only way through which the distance between God and man can be finally bridged: Invocat te, domine, humanitatem fides mea, quam dedisti filii tui, per ministerium praedicatoris mihi, quam inspirasti mihi per tui (1.1.1) [My faith, Lord, calls upon you. It is your gift to me. You breathed it into me by the humanity of your Son, by the ministry of your preacher]. The prominence of the figure of the praedicator at the end of the first paragraph of the Confessions is to me one of the strongest indications that the work may be read as a protreptic, that the role of the praedicator is one of the roles Augustine sees himself fulfilling through the writing of the Confessions. At this stage one important question remains: If the Confessions are meant to be a protreptic to the Manicheans, why does Augustine not address them directly? The analysis 113 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za of Conf 9.4.8-11 in chapter 3 has indicated part of the answer: the dramatic situation created in the Confessions (Augustine alone before an omniscient God) guarantees a degree of sincerity, otherwise difficult to convince the reader of. The more indirect approach also has a better chance on success. There are indications (see discussion in chapter 5) that Augustine deliberately harnesses the reader's curiositas about his personal life (see discussion in chapter 5.2 below), a curiosity that would be considerably diminished if she was to surmise that the text wants to tell her less about Augustine's life than about her own. 4.2 Persona and Protreptic Purpose The question "whose is the voice speaking in the Confessions?" or "what is the persona embodied in the voice the reader hears in the Confessions?" becomes at some stages in the work rather complicated." Here I choose to treat the matter in a highly selective and introductory manner with the sole purpose of throwing concern of this dissertation: the communicative additional light on the central purpose of the Confessions. A factor constantly aggravating the difficulty of knowing when another speaker has been introduced and also of gauging the tone of Augustine's speaking voice is, however, the fact that even neatly edited modern texts like that of O'Donnell cannot easily indicate everything that is A full treatment of the different voices that speak in the Confessions merits a lengthy study in its own right. It is perhaps one of the fields where the categories of contemporary literary theory could provide a useful tool for unravelling the problem, but see Herzog (1984, 242) for the limited usefulness of some of these literary models due to the extraordinary conventions of Augustine's text. There are a number of aspects of the voice(s) speaking in the Confessions that I will not examine in any detail here, e.g. direct speech in the Confessions, that is, those instances where speakers other than the main narrator (or the exact words of the narrator himself at some stage in the past) are quoted directly or where conversations are represented. Instances in this category that spring to mind are many of the scriptural quotations, those places where Monica or other prominent characters in the story are quoted directly, or the conversation between Augustine and his erstwhile temptations on the one hand and Continentia on the other in book 8. Laurie Douglass (1996, 39-54), for example, makes a case for seeing the use of conversation in the Confessions as an indication that the "substantive element of the episode" (44) has been reached and asserts that Augustine tries to demonstrate "that a conversation was the site of each significant revelation on his passage to God" (46). Another highly complex and interesting dimension of the speaking voice in the Confessions is the presence of the voice of God in the text. Herzog (1984) has shown convincingly that Augustine is not the only one to speak in the Confessions, but that the voice of God - speaking through the words cited from his Word - becomes more and more audible as the work progresses and is especially strong in the last three books once the prerequisites for constituting a real dialogue between Augustine and God have been met. Herzog (1984, 229-231) also argues convincingly that only in book 8 does Augustine acquire the ability to answer God through the words of scripture in his turn. This 'scriptural dialogue' comes to a climax in the thirteenth book of the Confessions, which resembles a prolonged cento of biblical quotations (Herzog 1984, 241). 4 114 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za scriptural quotation, for Augustine incorporates words and phrases from scripture into his own speech in a way that often makes it impossible to extricate the one from the other." Let us look at the instances I want to focus on. There are sections in the Confessions where the voice that is heard ceases to be that of the bishop-narrator and almost becomes that of the character in the story. The few places where this other voice comes to the surface occur at important points in the narratio of Augustine's past life and have considerable implications for my analysis. I analyze only two instances of this occurrence, the speaking voice in the prologue (1.1.1 to 1.5.6) and in Conf 4.11.16 to 4.12.19 to discover the implications of the device of the incongruent speaking voice for the protreptic purpose of the whole. The prologue is one of the most intricate passages as far as the identity of the speaker is concerned and this is where in many ways the tone for the rest of the work is set. The second passage is analyzed chiefly for the additional understanding of the same discrepancy in the speaking voice that can be gleaned from it, but also for the clear indications it contains of the audience it is aimed at, and, most importantly, for the very apparent protreptic character it displays. I start with a look at the persona of the speaker in the prologue of the Confessions. The speaker of the confession of praise uttered in the opening words is a person who has found and learnt to love God and who knows the Holy Scriptures: he confidently and directly addresses this God, expertly stringing together the words of at least two different Psalms. It is a voice easily identified with that of Augustine the bishop, writing his Confessions in 6 Hippo, Northern Africa, during the last years of the fourth century AD. In 1.1.1 we find that the speaker is, his elevated position in the church notwithstanding, the particular circumstances portio creaturae or perhaps because of attached to this position, aware of his own smallness (aliqua tuae, repeated for emphasis), his mortality (circumferens mortalitatem suam), his sinfulness (circumferens testimonium peccati SUI) and the fact that he had been unable to find God while he was still a proud man (testimonium quia superbis resistis)? He praises God because this is what God incites him to do, because this is why he was created, and because he knows that God is the only place where man may find rest: 5 Knauer's analysis (1955) of the use of Psalms in the Confessions remains the standard work for Augustine's techniques of quotation. 6 Brown (1967, 162) also points to the visibility (or audibility) of the bishop in the text: "Augustine will select as important, incidents and problems that immediately betray the new bishop of Hippo." 7 This is only one of the possible implications of these words. 115 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Tu excitas ut /audare te de/ectet, quia fecisti nos ad te et inquietum est cor nostrum donee requiescat in te (1.1.1) [You stir man to take pleasure in praising you, because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you]. All of this is perfectly reconcilable with what the reader (then and now) may expect the 4 century bishop of Hippo to say in his th Contessions" The voice in the rest of 1.1.1 where Augustine - as is dictated by classical convention - asks for divine assistance for his task, mirrors the classical education of the bishop which he now uses in the service of his Christian ideals: Da mihi, domine, scire et intel/egere ['Grant me Lord to know and understand' (Ps 118:34,73, 144)]. The accumulation of direct and indirect questions in the middle of this first paragraph can be interpreted not as the expression of a lack of knowledge, but as a rhetorical device to introduce the themes of the work as a whole and to elevate the tone of the narrative to a more intellectual level. This is confirmed by the fact that these questions are implicitly but confidently answered by the adept use of Scriptural quotanons." Where, near the end of 1.1.1, the speaker exhorts himself to seek for God (quaeram te) this can be interpreted as an exhortation, not to the initial search of the still godless man, but an exhortation to persevere in the striving towards God that has to continue after conversion. This is borne out by the fact that immediately afterwards we find confirmation of the speaker's already converted status, in the statement that God has already been preached to him (praedicatus enim es nobis), and that he has already acquired faith in Him through Christ (fides mea, quam dedisiti mihi, quam inspirasti mihi per humanitatem filii tui, per ministerium praedicatoris tUI). But there is a different or perhaps rather an additional interpretation possible, one that I find reinforced by my reading of other parts of the work, as will become clear below. When Augustine says, "Let me seek you as I invoke you," this is what will happen literally on The reader must remember that even Augustine's first readers (like many readers today) probably knew the main events of his life by the time they picked up the Confessions. 8 9 These quotations are "from three different sources (Rom 10: 13-14, Ps 21:27, Matt 7:7), in part themselves questions - but only rhetorical questions. These citations together provide the data required to answer the questions that precede" (O'Donnell 1992, 2:16-17). 116 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za some level of the narration that follows: the I in the text sometimes becomes the one still seeking for God and ceases to be the one who has already found Him. Brown's formulation (1967, 164) where he speaks of the relation of present and past in the Confessions probably refers to what lies behind my own observation of the shifting persona of the speaking voice: In [the Confessions] one constantly senses the tension between the 'then' of the young man and the 'now' of the bishop. The past can come very close: its powerful and complex emotions have only recently passed away; we can still feel their contours through the thin layer of new feeling that has grown over them. Thus, although the already-converted Augustine is mostly the persona behind the words we hear in the text, there are instances where the contours of the voice of the young notyet-converted Augustine become discernible. Further, I am convinced that, in spite of not recognizing the presence of the reader at the outset of the Confessions, Augustine, the master rhetorician publishing this work, must always be acutely aware of his audience and the way in which his words may influence them. Add to this the missionary burden Christianity places on its adherents as well as the tradition of conversion texts (discussed in chapter 2.3) within which Augustine works and one has to consent to the likelihood of him wanting his reader to identify with the search of the young Augustine in order to persuade him to eventually make the same decision for conversion. One device that may enhance this identification is to use in the text the exact words the reader would be expected to utter at that stage, so that the quest in the text becomes the reader's own quest. Douglass (1996, 40) remarks on the relation between identification and persuasion: "Persuasion occurs only when the observer recognizes himself or herself in [i.e. identifies with] what is being said." His analysis of the use of direct speech in the Confessions starts with a statement that supports my reading: "Augustine's prose presumes the reader will identify with him and be persuaded. Augustine gives the reader his very prayer; to read is to pray with him" (Douglass 1996, 43).10 10 O'Donnell (1992, 3:250) argues that before Book 11 "the reader could remain a voyeur looking on curiously, side by side with A., at A.'s past" and that it is only from Book 11 onwards that "the reader is urged to share A.'s exploration of the nature of God, and of himself ... the reading of the text is itself the participation." I argue, with Douglass and Miles (1992 and 1997, see discussion in chapter 1.2.3), that the reader is actively engaged to participate in what the text presents already in the earlier books as well. 117 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za In the second paragraph of the prologue (Conf 1.2.2) the dense texture of the narrative created by the accretion of questions seems to represent a speaking voice that remains a mixture of that of the older and the younger Augustine. On the one hand there are elements that seem to point to the older Augustine: the impression that the questions serve more to indicate the intricacy of the matters to be treated than a real lack of knowledge on these subjects; signs of intimacy with God; evidence of confident knowledge of God and his Word; and of course, the clever rhetorical structure of the whole paragraph: Deum meum, deum et dominum meum ... deus meus ... deus, qui fecit cae/um et terram ... an quia sine te non esset quidquid est? ... quoniam itaque et ego sum, quid peto ut venias in me, qui non essem, nisi esses in me? non enim ego iam inferi et tamen etiam ibi es. nam etsi descendero in infernum, ades. non ergo essem, deus meus, non omnino essem, nisi esses in me deus me us, qui dixit: cae/um et terram ego imp/eo [My God, my God and Lord my God ... 'God made heaven and earth' (Gen 1:1) ... Without you, whatever exists would not exist ... I also have being. So why do I request you to come to me when, unless you were within me, I would have no being at all? I am not now possessed by Hades; yet even there are you (Ps 138:8): for 'even if I were to go down to Hades, you would be present.' Accordingly, my God, I would have no being, I would not have any existence, unless you were in me ... For God has said 'I fill heaven and earth' (Jer 23:24)]. And yet, the "contours" of the voice of the young Augustine, the one who still has to find the answers to these questions in a slow an arduous process that will unfold as the narrative progresses, remains discernible under the surface. Once again we can read the invocabo deum meum, literally, as a statement of what this young Augustine will do in the narrative that follows, namely to (learn how to) call God into himself. We know that in the Confessions the reader is not allowed quick access to the answers the bishop has found with such great trouble. She has to complete, step by step, the arduous journey towards conversion, which, for Augustine, could only follow after a firm grasp on the nature of God's existence had been attained to. This is the mission mapped out by the questions here in 1.2.2 but which will take up to book 7 of the Confessions to accomplish: Et quis locus est in me quo veniat in me deus meus, quo deus veniat in me, deus qui fecit cae/um et terram? itane, domine deus meus, est quicquam in me, quod capiat te? ... quo te invoco cum in te sim? aut unde venias in me? [But what place is there in me where my God can enter into me? 'God made heaven and earth' (Gen 1: 1). Where may he come to me? Lord my God, is there any room in me 118 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za which can contain you? ... How can I call on you to come if I am already in you? Or where can you come from so as to be in me?]. The questions about the nature of God continue through 1.3.3 and up to the last repetition (quid es ergo, deus meus?)11 at the beginning of 1.4.4, before they receive at last a highly confident answer in the triumphant spate of descriptive words and phrases (that stretches over more than ten lines of O'Donnell's text edition) now clearly in the voice of the older Augustine: summe, iustissime [Most high, utterly good, utterly powerful, most omnipotent, most merciful and most just optime, potentissime, omnipotentissime, misericordissime et ] and what follows. In 1.5.5 to 1.5.6, however, the voice of the young Augustine becomes audible once again. At the opening of 1.5.5 Augustine says: Quis mihi dabit adquiescere in te? Quis dabit mihi ut venias in cor meum et inebries iIIud, ut obliviscar mala mea et unum bonum meum amplectar, te? [Who will enable me to find rest in you? Who will grant me that you come to my heart and intoxicate it, so that I forget my evils and embrace my one and only good, yourself?]. The reader expecting to hear the voice of the bishop should find this a little perplexing. Has Augustine not already found God and found his rest in Him? Or, if we can still accept that he is only expressing dissatisfaction with the quality or quantity of the rest he has attained to, has God not already entered the heart of the confident speaker of the opening paragraph of the work and has he not already embraced Him (praedicatus enim es nobis. incovat te, domine, fides mea, quam dedisti mihl)? The next lines temporarily remove the uneasiness. The reader may assume that the previous questions were also an indication of the themes Augustine is going to treat and part of his expression of wonder at the high God's involvement with small man, part of the problems he asks God to help him speak about, when she hears Augustine say: Quid mihi es? miserere ut loquar. quid tibi sum ipse, ut amari te iubeas a me et, nisi faciam irascaris mihi et mineris ingentes miserias? parvane ipsa est si non amem te? ei mihi! dic mihi per miserationes tuas, domine deus meus, quid sis mihi [What are you to me? Have mercy so that I may find words. What am I to you that you command me to love you, and that, if I fail to love you, you are angry with me and 11 Note that I follow here O'Donnell's reading "quid es" instead of the more familiar reading represented for example by the Teubner text. 119 , Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za threaten me with vast miseries? If I do not love you, is that but a little misery? What a wretch I am! In your mercies, Lord God, tell me what you are to me]. But the voice becomes confused again in the following lines: Die animae meae, 'salus tua ego sum': sic die ut audiam. ecce aures cordis mei ante te, domine. aperi eas et die animae meae, 'selus tua ego sum.' eurram post voeem hane et apprehendam te ['Say to my soul, I am your salvation' (Ps 34:3). Speak to me so that I may hear. See the ears of my heart before you, Lord. Open them and 'say to my soul, I am your salvation.' After that utterance I will run and lay hold on you]. Of course the words, die animae meae, 'selus tua ego sum,' is a direct quotation which O'Donnell (1992, 2:29) interprets (correctly I think) as a petition for "divine help to speak" through using "the word of another man asking God to speak to him." But in the following words (sic die ut audiam) Augustine does explicitly appropriate the idea." implying that he himself needs to hear the message 'salus tua ego sum.' If this is so, what the voice asks God here to tell his soul is something that the bishop's soul must long ago have learnt to understand, something that he must regularly have told the audiences of his sermons in the church of Hippo. Also the implications of the imperative in aperi and the future tense in eurram and adprehendam are perhaps more applicable to the not-yet-converted than to the writer of the Confessions. The reader knows that she is never allowed to listen uninterruptedly to the voice of the young Augustine. The most prominent perspectives and opinions expressed in the Confessions, and the commentary provided by Augustine in what Feldmann (1994, 1163-1164) calls the reflexive level ("reflexive Ebene'? of the work, remain those of the already converted bishop speaking from Hippo. Douglass (1996, 45), where he discusses the influence of Paul's words in Romans on Augustine at the final moment of his conversion, remarks on the power of imperatives in the second person singular to draw the reader into identifying with the speaker in the text. The same Augustine who knows the effect those imperatives in the text had on him is surely aware of the effect of using this same device in his own text: it does in fact make the reader say to God: die animae meae, 'selus tua ego sum': sic die ut audiam. What is more, a reader reading out loud may be even more susceptible to the protreptic power of the words uttered by his own voice than one reading silently. 12 "Augustin setzt urn die Zitat-Klarnrnerder persënllchen Applikation (1,5,5) noch eine zweite der nur ihn selbst betreffenden Applikationsforderung: 'sic dic, ut audiarn'" (Herzog 1984,218). 120 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Let us now look at the passage in Book 4 where Augustine once again speaks to his own soul. What has been illustrated in the analysis above, namely that the voice that ceases to be that of the bishop and becomes almost imperceptibly that of the character, is something that also surfaces in the narrative at 4.11.16. Here an additional problem, which in the previous passage remains latent, comes to the fore: there is an inconsistency between the voice that speaks and the soul it calls anima mea in these speeches. Where in Conf 1.5.5 the discrepancy exists for a moment and is then resolved by once again identifying the speaker with the soul (dic animae meae ... sic dic ut audiam), we have in Book 4 a prolonged apostrophe of the soul." Like in the passages from the prologue analyzed above the information and the exhortations directed at this soul makes it clear that this can only be the soul of the young, not-yet-converted Augustine. But the words uttered are not the kind the young Augustine would have known to use. They are the kind of words the bishop of Hippo might employ in an attempt to lead some searching soul to conversion (I quote only the most striking phrases from a passage that sustains this apostrophe to the soul through paragraphs 16 and 17 and up to the beginning of 18 (4.11.16, 4.11.17, 4.12.18): Noli esse vana, anima mea, et obsurdescere in aure cordis tumultu vanitatis tuae. audi et tu: verbum ipsum clamat ut redeas, et ibi est locus quietis imperturbabilis ... ibi fige mansionem tuam, ibi commenda quidquid inde habes, anima mea; saltem fatigata fallaciis, veritati commenda quidquid tibi est a veritate, et non perdes aliquid, et ref/orescent putria tua, et sanabuntur omnes languores tui ... Ut quid perversa sequeris carnem tuam? Ipsa te sequatur conversam [Do not be vain, my soul. Do not deafen your heart's ear with the tumult of your vanity. Even you have to listen. The Word Himself cries to you to return. There is the place of undisturbed quietness ... Fix your dwelling there. Put in trust there whatever you have from Him, my soul, at least now that you are wearied of deceptions. Entrust to the truth whatever has come to you from the truth. You will lose nothing. The decayed parts of you will receive a new flowering, and all your sicknesses will be healed (Matt 13 O'Donnell does not remark on the device in 1.5.5 but his interpretation at 4.11.16 supports my observations on this same passage, although he interprets it differently: "The line between past and present is blurred. A. speaks as if in the present, using words only available to him in the present ... but the address is apt to the condition in which he found himself ... The apostrophe here does not address the anima as it was twenty years earlier; rather A. turns from contemplating his fall, as he completes its description, to address the soul by way of admonition against the future. That what he says here in paragraphs 15-19 is what he should have said at the time adds irony." 121 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za 4:23; Ps 102:3) ... Why then are you perversely following the leading of your flesh? If you turn away from it, it has to follow you]. I have underlined in the passage those phrases that indicate protreptic intent while the rest of quotation serves to indicate that the soul Augustine speaks to is the soul of someone who is not yet converted. Here lies at least one of the keys to the device of the shifting persona in these sections: it brings home a forceful protreptic message. It is a device that temporarily allows the character of the young Augustine to dominate the narrator, the older Augustine. It grips the reader in a manner that speaks louder than any amount of preaching by the narrator could have done. But its effectiveness lies in its subtlety, in the fact that the reader has the impression of being absorbed in eavesdropping on an intense and intimate moment in Augustine's inner life without realizing the subconscious effect uttering or reading these words may have on her own inner life. In 4.12.18 the effect of the apostrophe is heightened by further embedding: the voice tells its own soul to address other souls and this gives rise to a protreptic passage in effect also directly addressing the readers of the Confessions in the second person plural. But still the protreptic functions at a slight remove, still it targets the subconscious and emotional rather than the intellectual faculties of the reader: professedly it is Augustine's soul talking to other (unidentified) souls and not Augustine talking to his readers (once again I try to quote only the most salient phrases): Rape ad eum tecum quas potes et dic eis: "nunc amemus: ipse fecit haec et non est longe. non enim fecit atque abiit, sed ex iIIo in iIIo sunt .... redite, praevaricatores, ad cor et inhaerete iIIi, qui fecit vos. state cum eo et stabitis, requiescite in eo et quieti eritis. quo itis in aspera? quo itis? ... quo vobis adhuc et adhuc ambulare vias difficiles et laboriosas? non est requies, ubi queritis eam. quaerite quod quaeritis, sed ibi non est, ubi quaeritis. ... Et descendit huc ipsa vita nostra et tulit mortem nostram et occidit eam de abundantia vitae suae et tonuit eiemens. ut redeamus hinc ad eum descensu, ... non enim tardavit, sed cucurrit clamans dietis. factis, motte, vita, ascensu, clamans ut redeamus ad eum. et discessit ab oculis, ut redeamus ad cor et inveniamus eum ... filii hominum, quo usque graves corde? numquid ascenditis, et post descensum bitae non vultis ascendere et vivere? sed quo quando in alto estis et posuistis in cailo os vestrum? descendite, ut ascendatis ... dic eis ista, ut plorent in con valle plorationis, et sic eos rape tecum ad deum, quia de spiritu eius haec dicis eis, si dicis ardens igne caritatis [So seize what souls you can to take with you to Him, and say to them: 'Him we love; he made these things and is not far distant.' For he did not create and then depart; the 122 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za things derived from Him have their being in Him ... 'Return, sinners, to your heart' (Isa 46:8 LXX), and adhere to Him who made you. Stand with Him and you will stand fast. Rest in Him and you will be at rest. Where are you going to along rough paths? What is the goal of your journey? ... With what end in view do you again and again walk along difficult and laborious paths (Wisd 5:7)? There is no rest where you seek for it. Seek for what you seek, but it is not where you are looking for it ... He who for us is life itself descended here and endured our death and slew it by the abundance of his life. In a thunderous voice he called us to return to Him ... He did not delay, but ran crying out loud by his words, deeds, death, life, descent, and ascent - calling us to return to Him. And he has gone from our sight that we should 'return to our heart' (Isa 46:8) and find Him there ... 'Sons of men, how long will you be heavy at heart?' (Ps 4:3). Surely after the descent of life, you cannot fail to wish to ascend and live? But where will you ascend when you are 'set on high and have put your mouth in heaven'? (Ps 72:9). Come down so that you can ascend ... Tell souls that they should 'weep in the valley of tears' (Ps 83:7). So take them with you to God, for by his Spirit you declare these things to them if you say it burning with the fire of love]. Let us consider for a moment the implications of the context where the passage (from which both long quotations above come) occurs for its interpretation. On a first level, this passage is introduced at a point where the narrative has reached a climax of emotional intensity in Augustine's descriptions of the sweetness of friendship, the agony of losing a friend, and the transience of life in general. But we are also reminded by the content of the passage that Book 4 forms part of the description of the intellectual journey away from Manicheism that spans books 3 to 7. Some of the terms used here remind us of the meditation on Ps 4, analyzed in chapter 3, which I have already described as direct protreptic to the Manicheans: the references to vanitas, fallaciae and veritas, the medical imagery (in the apostrophe of the speaker to his own soul), and especially the emphasis on Christ's humanity and his mediating role, the use of the phrase quousque graves corde, and the accusation that these souls are subject to superbia in sed quo ascenditis, quando in a/to estis et posuistis in cae/o os vestrum? descendite, ut ascendatis (in the address of the soul to the other souls). That we are justified in seeing the elements discussed above as indicative of Augustine's preoccupation with his Manichean audience, is confirmed by the fact that the soul the speaker exhorts to (re)turn to God, to be converted, is the soul of the young Augustine at the stage when it was still in the grip of Manichean thinking. We are therefore not surprised 123 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za to find that the content is especially Manicheans apt for addressing at the stage when they read the Confessions. those readers who are still I surmise that Augustine is perfectly aware of this and is in fact addressing his Manichean audience as much as his own soul in the opening words of 4.11.16: noli esse vana ... et obsurdescere in aure cordis tumultu vanitatis tuae. audi et tu and what follows. The fact that a passage that displays concern with his Manichean audience is embedded in a section where amicitia is a prominent theme may also be significant. I think that Augustine intentionally uses the strong bonds of friendship that probably existed between him and many of his co-Manicheans to add yet another dimension to the appeal he makes to them. This is supported by the words in paragraph 20 immediately following the speech of the soul, which puts it in perspective and reinforces the idea that amicitia is important here: Haec tunc non nove ram, et amabam pulchra inferiora et ibam in profundum, et dicebam amicis meis, 'num amamus aliquid nisi pulchrum?' ... [At that time I did not know this. I loved beautiful things of a lower order, and I was going down to the depths. I used to say to my friends: 'Do we love anything except that which is beautiful? ... ]. The Augustine of that era (tunc) was still a Manichean and many of the amici mentioned here were in all probability also Manicheans. The impression that Augustine has the Manicheans in mind is sustained in the section where the soul addresses other souls, firstly because in the opening hortative verb (in the first person plural: hunc amemus) Augustine identifies the quest of the own soul with that of the others, telling them, in effect: you need the same exhortation as I, therefore let us (both I and you, souls) love Him. This is followed by a repetition of the consolation that has become a Leitmotiv in the Confessions: ipse fecit haec et non est longe. Even though man may be unaware of God's presence He is never far away. Two lines further the imperatives and indicatives in the second person plural start: redite, state, requiescite, itis, amatis, up to quaeritis. The passage recapitulates one of the ideas of the opening paragraph of the work that I have described as part of a protreptic progression there: namely the references to seeking and to finding rest. Furthermore, it is important to note that Augustine's soul is not speaking to souls who are unconcerned about their salvation, but to souls searching for it seriously, even though they may be prevaricating, falling into unnecessary polemics, or taking the wrong routes. There is no denying that this description of the other souls' search shows many similarities 124 to the description of Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Augustine's own search described in books 1 to 8 of the Confessions, a search that was for a large part of this quest governed, or as he interprets it, hampered, by Manichean thinking. Paragraph 19 focuses sharply on Christ, on his humanity and his redemptive role, an issue that, as I have indicated in chapter 3, was a constant point of contention between the Catholics and the Manicheans. The analysis in chapter 3 also referred to the tochme-sotme pair, the concept of calling and answering that plays an important role in Manichean liturgy and literature. In 4.12.19 the references to calling (here Christ calling out to man to return to Him) are even more persistent than they were in 9.4.8-11: tonuit, clamans ut redeamus hinc ad eum ... non enim tardavit, sed cucurrit clamans dictis, factis, morte, vita, descensu, ascensu, clamans ut reamus ad eum ... ut redeamus ad eum. The use of these expressions of course also embodies a protreptic purpose, which is further strengthened by the utilization of protreptic topoi as in the accumulation of verbs referring to traveling and roads (redeamus, processit, procedens, ad currendam viam, cucurrit, descensu, ascensu, discessit, abscessit, reliquit, recessit, venit, ascendere, ascenditis, descendite, ascendatis), medical terminology (cui confitetur anima mea et sanat eam), and the exemplum of the vita of Christ (clamans dictis, factis, morte, vita, descensu, ascensu). Another technique used here reminds of 9.4.8-11, namely the identification of the soul (who speaks) with the souls it addresses through the use of first person plural verbs and pronouns (vita nostra, mortem nostram, redeamus, ad nos, inveniamus, nobiscum) that occur with high frequency especially in the first part of paragraph 19. Although technically the prayer stance of the confession has not been broken, this is one of the sections where the preoccupation with the well-being of other souls (including that of the reader) is so strong, that the passage may almost be perceived as a direct protreptic addressed at the reader. I argue that at some level this is exactly what it is designed to do. 4.3 Allusion to Matthew 7:7 and the Expression of Protreptic Purpose Describing the Confessions as a quest is common. That the idea of this quest and its successful completion may be expressed by the verbs quaerere and in venire among others is to be expected. But the verb quaerere and its counterpart in venire in the Confessions stand for much more, mainly because from the first appearance in the work these words evoke a series of allusions to Matt 7:7 that gain in importance as the narrative progresses. 125 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Knauer's remarks (1957, 240) already point to the thematic and structural importance of Matt 7:7 in the Confessions: Dieses 14 Zitat verklammert die letzten drei BOcher der Konfessionen ... nach mehreren Anspielungen im 11. Buche zu Beginn des 12. Buches ausfOhrlich zitiert, beschlleêt es das ganze Werk in feierlich stilisierter Form. Es klingt aber ... auch schon im Prooemium des 1. Buches an. Damit wird es bis zu einem gewissen Grade das Leitmotiv fOr das immer wieder neubegonnene Suchen nach Gott. Das "Finden" Gottes ist zugleich das intellegere Gottes, das aber nur Gott selbst gibt, wie es die letzten Worte der Konfessionen formulieren. Here I intend to show first how, as the narrative of the Confessions progresses, the pair quaerere and in venire accrues meaning through repetitive use and through association with other scriptural quotations, so that in the end the words become loaded concepts with far more than the normal semantic reach of quaerere and in venire. Secondly, I want to argue that this same word pair supports the expression of protreptic purpose. Of course quaerere and/or in venire do not per se constitute the expression of protreptic purpose, but these verbs are used in the Confessions in a way reminiscent of what I described above as the discrepancy in the speaking voice. There are many instances where they are the vehicles of a description in the first person of an ongoing quest that must in actual fact already have been completed by its subject at the specific stage in the narrative. This displacement of the action may have the function of showing the reader how to conduct the quest, of putting into the reader's mouth the words with which to formulate his or her thoughts on this quest. Let us return to how the allusions to Matt 7:7 function in the Confessions. Knowing that I run the risk of stating the obvious I nevertheless want to spell out that "Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you" is on a literal level a description of everyday events that has acquired an allegorical interpretation with metaphysical implications in a Christian context." On the literal level we "see" in our Various other scholars also remark on the prominence of allusions to this verse in the Confessions. See for example Kienzier (1989, 127): "Vielleicht das wichtigste Schrifzitat in den gesamten Konfessionen ist bekanntlich Mt 7,7f;" and Ferrari's insistence (1994) on the role of "petitionary knocking" based on allusions to Matt 7:7 and the role of this text in the Confessions. 14 15 The interpretation given in scripture itself, in Matt 7: 9-11, represents but one possibility: " Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much 126 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za mind's eye a person requesting to receive something (a hungry child asking for a loaf of bread), seeking to find an object (a woman seeking for her lost drachma) or knocking at a door in order to be let in. On the allegorical level this is open not only to the explication in Matt 7:9-11 but also to the other more intellectual interpretations Augustine makes the image carry in the Confessions. Through a process of repetition and association the reader soon starts to assume the implicit object of any form of quaere or in venire to be the ultimate goal of life, Truth or God. What O'Donnell (1992, 2:15-16) recognizes as the first quotation of Matt 7:7 in Conf1.1.1 is a partial quotation intertwined, as he also points out, with the quotation of two other sections from scripture (Rom 10: 13-14, which brings into circulation the verbs invocare and credere and the idea of the praedicator, and Ps 21 :27 that brings with it laudare and requirere, the latter as an equivalent for quaerere). This instance, in my opinion, already illustrates the salient characteristics of Augustine's use of the quaerere-complex: firstly, any reference to quaerere and/or in venire can evoke the whole of Matt 7:7 (for and audience that we suppose were familiar with this section of scripture, Catholics and Manicheans alike), and secondly, the allusion is often accompanied by quotations of other passages from scripture in a way that makes the connotations associated with it accumulate as the text progresses. This means that, while O'Donnell correctly indicates the other quotations of Matt 7:7 as occurring in book 6 (6.4.5; 6.11.18; 6.11.20), book 11 (11.2.3; 11,22,28), and books 12 (12.1.1; 12.12.15; 12.15.22; 12.24.33) and 13 (13.38.53, the very last words of the Confessions), I try to show below that the power of this verse and the imagery associated with it is in fact far more prevalent throughout the Confessions than these statistics seem to indicate. Let us look at some passages where the quaerere-complex occurs, with a view of showing how prevalent the use of the image of seeking and finding is in the Confessions. First, up to book 7 the use of these words very often indicates the misdirected nature of Augustine's search - searching for the wrong object (in 3.1.1): Quaerebam quid amarem, amans amare, et oderam securitatem et viam sine muscipulis [I sought for an object for my love; I was in love with love, and I hated safety and a path free of snares (Wisd 14:11; Ps 90:3)]; more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" The translations of Matt 7:7-9 given here are from the NRSV. 127 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za searching in the wrong manner in 3.6.11, where the intellectual quality of the quest is also brought to the fore: Cum te non secundum intellectum mentis, .. . sed secundum sensum carnis quaererem [In seeking for you I followed not the intelligence of the mind ... but the mind of the flesh]; in 5.3.4 and 5.3.5 (where the third person plural verbs refer to the Manicheans of which Augustine had been one): Non religiose quaerunt ... non pie quaerunt [They do not in a religious spirit investigate ... they do not seek in a devout spirit]; in 6.4.5 where we have one of the occurrences of the pulsare element of Matt 7:7, which occurs (like petere) much less often than quaerere: Pulsans proponerem quomodo credendum esset, non insultans opponerem quasi ita creditum esset [I should have knocked (Matt 7:7) and inquired about the meaning of this belief, and not insulted and opposed it, as if the belief meant what I thought]. in 6.11.20: Amans beatam vitam timebam iIIam in sede sua et ab ea fugiens quaerebam eam [I longed for the happy life, but was afraid of the place where it has its seat, and fled from it at the same time as I was seeking for it]; or in 7.5.7: Quaerebam unde malum, et male quaerebam, et in ipsa inquisitione mea non videbam malum [I searched for the origin of evil, but I searched in a flawed way and did not see the flaw in my very search]; and searching in the wrong places in 4.12.18: Non est requies ubi quaeratis eam. quaerite quod quaeritis, sed ibi non est ubi quaeritis. beatam vitam quaeritis in regione mortis: non est iIIic [There is no rest 128 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za where you seek for it. Seek for what you seek, but it is not where you are looking for it. You seek the happy life in the region of death; it is not there];" or in 6.1.1: Et quaerebam te foris a me, et non inveniebam deum cordis mei. et veneram in profundum maris, et diffidebam et desperabam de inventione veri [I was seeking for you outside myself, and I failed to find 'the God of my heart' (Ps 72:26). I had come into the depth of the sea (Ps 67:23). I had no confidence, and had lost hope that truth could be found]. Augustine however, makes sure that his reader realizes that God is in actual fact directing the search unbeknown to the seeker in 2.2.4: Nam tu semper aderas, misericorditer saeviens et amarissimis aspergens offensionibus omnes in/icitas iucunditates meas, ut ita quaererem sine offensione iucundari, et ubi hoc possem, non invenirem quicquam praeter te, domine, praeter te, qui fingis dolorem in praecepto et percutis ut sanes et occidis nos ne moriamur abs te [For you were always with me, mercifully punishing me, touching with a bitter taste all my illicit pleasures. Your intention was that I should seek delights unspoilt by disgust and that, in my quest where I could achieve this, I should discover it to be in nothing except you Lord, nothing but you. You 'fashion pain to be a lesson' (Ps 93:20 LXX), you 'strike to heal,' you bring death upon us so that we should not die part from you (Deut 32:39)]. Man is not the only one searching, God also seeks out man, as 5.2.2 implies: Fugiant a te ... ubi tu non invenis eos? .. so/us es praesens etiam his qui longe fiunt a te [Where have those who fled from your face gone? Where can they get beyond the reach of your discovery? (Ps 138) ... You alone are always present even to those who have taken themselves far from you]; and as 11.2.4 states explicitly: 16 This is part of the direct speech in 4.12.18 analysed in 4.2 above where Augustine's soul speaks to other souls. See also for example 6.1.1 quaerebam te foris a me ... et desperabam de inventione veri or 6.4.5 pu/sans proponerem ... non insultans opponerem (note that we have here one of the occurrences of the pulsare element of Mt 7:7, which occurs (like petere) much less often than quaerere); 6.11.20 ab ea (sc. beata vita) fugiens quaerebarn earn; 7.5.7 quaerebam unde malum, et male quaerebarn). 129 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Christum ... per quem nos quaesisti quaereremus non quaerentes te, quaesisti autem ut te [By Him you sought us when we were not seeking you (Rom 10:20). But you sought us that we should seek you]. Important for this notion is also 12.1.1 where the action of knocking is ascribed to the words of scripture: Multa satagit cor meum, domine, in hac inopia vitae meae, pulsatum verbis sanctae scripturae tueo" [In my needy life, Lord, my heart is much exercised under the impact made by the words of your holy scripture]. Of course not all instances where the verbs quaerere and in venire and their derivatives (or the other verbs from Matt 7:7, petere and accipere, pulsare and aperiri) are used evoke the imagery of Matt 7:7, but the few examples discussed above should serve to illustrate that very often this is indeed the case. Let us look at a number of other instances where the use of the Matt 7:7 imagery plays a significant role in the narrative. At the end of 1.6.10 Augustine is lead by his musings about his own infancy to a reflection about time in a passage that clearly foreshadows Book 11 of the Confessions. This is followed by another oblique reference to Matt 7:7: Quid ad me, si quis non intel/egat? gaudeat et ipse dicens, 'quid est hoc?' gaudeat etiam sic, et amet non inveniendo in venire potius guam inveniendo non in venire te [If anyone finds your simultaneity beyond his understanding, it is not for me to explain it. Let him be content to say 'What is this?' (Exod 16:15). So too let him rejoice and delight in finding you who are beyond discovery rather than fail to find you by supposing you to be discoverable]. The first sentence seems to deny concern for whoever is unable to follow his rhetoric but the rest of the passage once again displays Augustine's desire for the salvation of his audience, i.e. betrays his protreptic intentions: invenire deum is more important for the hypothetical person Augustine speaks about here than a solution to the problem of what time is. 17 See O'Donnell (1992, 3: 166 and 301) for other instances of scripture knocking at the heart of man. 130 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Next, I want to look at book 6.1.1 where we have an example of how the imagery is invested with accrued meaning through the association with other scriptural quotations. After two opening questions, Augustine says (in 6.1.1): Et ambulabam per tenebras et lubricum et quaerebam te foris a me, et non inveniebam deum cordis mei ... et desperabam de inventione veri [I was walking through darkness and 'a slippery place' (Ps 34:6). I was seeking for you outside myself, and I failed to find 'the God of my heart' (Ps 72:26) ... and had lost hope that truth could be found]. It is clear that the imagery of seeking and finding is used to sum up how the quest has progressed up to this point and that here the quest image is fused with the image of the way, i.e. the image of the prodigal son, implicit in ambulare and tubrtcum." This is also the case in 6.5.8 where we have in venire, coupled with the via image as well as medical imagery: Sed ... semper tamen credidi et esse te et curam nostri gerer, etiamsi ignorabam vel quid sentiendum esset de substantia tua vel quae via duceret aut reduceret ad te. ideoque cum essemus infirmi ad inveniendam liquida ratione veritatem et ob hoc nobis opus esset auctoritate sanctarum littererum. iam credere coeperam [But at least I always retained belief both that you are and that you care for us, even if I did not know what to think about your substantial nature or what way would lead, or lead me back, to you. So since we were too weak to discover the truth by pure reasoning and therefore needed the authority of the sacred writings, I now began to believe]. Let us move on to the more expansive use of allusion to Matt 7:7 in 6.11.18-20. O'Donnell (1992, 2: 329) describes this section with the title, "State of mind: interior monologue." It is the first subsection in the last part of book 6 which he gives the overarching title "Perplexities." It is clear already from these titles that once again the allusions to Matt 7:7 is a vehicle for the evaluation of the state of the quest at this stage in Augustine's life. Two of the three elements in Matt 7:7 are present in this lively interior dialogue with its "ironic quality of ... self-representation" (O'Donnell 1992, 2:371), the quaerere and in venire pair 18 Knauer (1957, 226) quotes the opening lines of book 6 in a way that implies his interpretation of the references as being part of the peregrinatio-image and Pine-Coffin (1961, 111) translates: "I was walking on a treacherous path, in darkness." 131 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za (by far the most dominant) and the pulsare and aperiri pair (used only twice in 6.11.18-20, but an important indication that in this typical use of quaerere and in venire Augustine does have the whole of Matt 7:7 in mind). It is interesting to note that Augustine here goes back to the beginning of his quest, the reading of the Horlensius, Recolens quam longum tempus esset ab undevicensimo anno aetatis meae, quo fervere coeperam studio sapientiae ... et ecce ... in eodem luto haesitans aviditate fruendi praesentibus fugientibus et dissipantibus me [As I anxiously reflected how long a time had elapsed since the nineteenth year of my life, when I began to burn with a zeal for wisdom ... and here I was ... and still mucking about in the same mire in a state of indecision, avid to enjoy present fugitive delights which were dispersing my concentration] as an introduction to the interior monologue that is an ironic skip through his (lack of) progress up to now. We have here a powerful warning about how time can be lost in a fruitless quest. We also have the fusion of a number of elements we have encountered before and that are all appropriate in the context a of a protreptic text: the fire imagery associated with the reading of the protreptic text, the Horlensius (fervere coeperam), the image of the prodigal son (in dissipantibus)19 and (in the following quotation) the repetitive use of quaerere and in venire, here together with pulsare and aperiri. It is a pity not to quote this entertaining passage in entirety, but for the sake of brevity I will only quote the occurrences of quaerere, in venire, pulsare and aperiri, reminding the reader that these are found within the scope of 27 lines (in O'Donnell's text, 1992, 1:68) in 6.11.18 and the first section of 6.11.19: Gras inveniam ... immo quaeramus diligentius ... figam pedes in eo gradu in quo puer a parentibus positus eram, donee inveniatur perspicua veritas. sed ubi quaeretur? quando quaeretur? ... ubi ipsos codices quaerimus? Unde aut quando comparamus? ... et dubitamus pulsare, quo aperiantur cetera? ... conferamus nos ad solam inquisition em veritatis ... ergo et hoc quaerendum ... quid cunctamur igitur relicta spe saeculi conferre nos totos ad quaerendum deum et vitam beatam? [Tomorrow I shall find it ... Yet let us seek more diligently ... Let me fix my feet on that step where as a boy I was placed by my parents, until clear truth is found. But 19 See O'Donnell's discussion (1992, 2:372) of the echoes of the story of the prodigal son and of IS.11:12. 132 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za where may it be sought? When can it be sought? ... Where should we look for the books we need? Where and when can we obtain them? ... Why do we hesitate to knock at the door which opens the way to all the rest? ... Let us concentrate ourselves exclusively on the investigation of the truth ... this too, then, is a question needing scrutiny ... Why then do we hesitate to abandon secular hopes and to dedicate ourselves wholly to God and the happy life?]. Augustine ends the monologue with the words cum haec dicebam at the start of 6.11.20 which functions as a conclusion to this section and once again contains allusions to Matt 7:7, in this case combined with the use of medical imagery: Amans beatam vitam timebam iIIam in sede sua et ab ea fugiens quaerebam eam ... putabam enim me miserum fore nimis si feminae privarer amplexibus, et medicinam misericordiae tuae ad eandem infirmitatem sanandam non cogitabam ... utique dares, si gemitu interno pulsarem aures tuas ... [I longed for the happy life, but was afraid of the place where it has its seat, and fled from it at the same time as I was seeking for it ... I thought that I would become very miserable if I were deprived of the embraces of a woman. I did not think the medicine of your mercy could heal that infirmity ... You would surely have granted it if my inward groaning had struck your ears]. By now the object associated with the search expressed in quaerere (and invenire) has so often been stated as deus or the beata vita that any allusion to Matt 7:7 has come to suggest the whole intellectual quest, the very process of Augustine's conversion, and if the reader has obeyed the text in identifying with Augustine, then also the reader's conversion. As book 8 is discussed more fully elsewhere, a few remarks will suffice here. First, I find it significant that where in previous books the quarere part of the quaerere-invenire clearly dominated pair has we find the opposite in book 8. The book starts on a jubilant note, reflecting the resolution at last of the persistent problems of books 1 to 6 in book 7, but also making clear that the final goal is not yet reached. Paragraph 8.1.2 describes Augustine's doubts, but still contains some confident phrases: Inveneram te creatorem nostrum et verbum tuum apud te deum ... et inveneram iam bonam margaritam [I had found you our Creator and your Word who is God beside you ... And now I had discovered the good pearl], while 8.3.6-8 muses about man's tendency to be more joyful about finding what was lost, than about having what was never lost. In 8.3.6 the quaerere-invenire 133 pair is associated Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za with the "constellation of echoes ... of Luke 15" (O'Donnell 1992, 3: 25): the shepherd retrieving the lost sheep; the woman finding her drachma and once again the prodigal son, received with open arms by his father. As is appropriate for this stage of the narrative the focus of the quaerere-invenire imagery has moved from the arduous task of seeking to the joyful stage of finding. Once again the image has acquired new connotations. Having illustrated the way in which Augustine uses the Matt 7:7 imagery it remains now only to have a look at the function of allusions to this verse (and the subsequent one) in books 10 to 13 of the Confessions, that I take to be more paraenetic in intention. In book 10 passages with quaerere are often passages inquiring into the nature of the quest for God. Do I find God in memory? How do I find God in memory? What does this imply about foreknowledge of the vita beata? Also the losing and finding theme of book 8 is taken to a different (metaphysical) level: Did I first have and then at some stage lose the beata vita? I will not go into the (Neo-Platonic) philosophical ramifications of this question here but ask only one question: Does the use of the quaerere image in book 10 corroborate my reading of the Confessions as a protreptic-paraenetic the high frequency of the quaerere-invenire text? A statistical look at book 10 indicates pair: in its almost 28 and a half pages quaerere occurs 39 times, and in venire 34 times. Add to this a number of occurrences of aperire, petere, accipere and pu/sare, and it becomes clear that the presence of Matt 7:7 is kept alive throughout book 10. It must be conceded that one of the possible functions of the detailed exposition of Augustine's search for God in memory is to show his reader (here probably the Neo-Platonic reader as much as the Manichean, but one who has become more positive through his reading of books 1 -9) exactly how this can be understood. Book 10 can be seen also as a repetition of the quest for God on a different (higher and more intellectual) level, a narrowing down of the focus, an explanation from a different perspective. Note that Augustine has resolved his problems about what God is in book 7, has succeeded in finally yielding to this God in book 8, and has even momentarily succeeded in "seeing" Him in book 9. On a certain level, in book 10 the search seems to start all over when he asks once again in 10.6.8 to 10.7.11 and the reader realizes that the same subject matter is treated from a different angle: Quid autem arno, cum te arno? ... hoc est quod arno, cum deum meum arno. Et quid est hoc? ... Quid ergo arno, cum deum meum arno? Quis est iIIe super caput animae meae? [But when I love you, what do I love? ... That is what I love when I love my God. And what is the object of my love? ... What then do I love when I love my God? Who is he who is higher than the highest element in my soul?]. 134 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za I have indicated that I take books 10-13 of the Confessions to express, especially initially, mainly paraenetic concerns, namely to encourage and admonish those who have already made the life-changing decision to convert to God but are still struggling through everyday life. Book 10 speaks paraenetically to those who may merely want to acquire a better intellectual insight into the process of approaching God or who need encouragement in their daily struggle against sin, to Augustine's Christian brethren. O'Donnell (1992, 3: 245) has pointed to the fact that in books 9 and 10 Augustine's "true readership consists of those who are joined with him in the caritas of his church." I agree that in the opening paragraphs of book 10 the focus has shifted to the more sympathetic among Augustine's potential readers and that the second part of the book, which O'Donnell (1992, 3: 150) gives the title "temptatio est vita humana super terram" is especially appropriate to encourage those embroiled in the same struggle against the flesh as Augustine describes himself fighting. Still, book 10 does also speak protreptically to those who still need to find out how imperfect they are and how to find God. Especially in 10.3.3 the intended audience still appears to be in a less positive relationship with Augustine, or at least not showing the ideal attitude of one who is already converted: Quid mihi ergo est cum hominibus, ut audiant confessiones meas, quasi ipsi sanaturi sint omnes /anguores meos? curiosum genus ad cognoscendam alienam, desidiosum ad corrigendam suam. Quid vitam a me quaerunt audire qui sim, qui no/unt a te audire qui sint? [Why then should I be concerned for human readers to hear my confessions? It is not they who are going to 'heal my sicknesses' (Ps 102:3). The human race is inquisitive about other people's lives, but negligent to correct their own. Why do they demand to hear from me what I am when they refuse to hear from you what they are?]. The text (in 10.6.8) even reminds the readers that there is no excuse for not hearing and seeing the evidence of all creation about God: Sed et cae/um et terra et omnia quae in eis sunt, ecce undique mihi dicunt ut te amem, nec cessant dicere omnibus, ut sint inexcusabiles everything [But heaven earth and in them on all sides tell me to love you. Nor do they cease to tell everyone that 'they are without excuse' (Rom 1:20)]. In books 11 to 13 Matt 7:7 is to my mind used in a different way: It occurs far less often in the course of the narrative but its use at key points to frame the narrative causes its presence to be felt as strongly as before. Matt 7:7 is clearly present at the opening of book 11 (11.1.1-11.2.4) that constitutes a serious appeal to God for help, an appeal through 135 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za which reverberates Augustine's awareness of the difficulty of the task of meditari in lege tua (11.2.2). This difficulty is compounded by the fact that the results are not only for his own benefit sed usui vult esse fratemae caritati (11.2.3), a phrase that can be taken as the explicit formulation of paraenetic purpose. The echoes of Matt 7:7 figure against this background: first, the quotation of Matt 6:8, with its use of petatis, serves both to evoke Matt 7:7 and to add to it the dimension of the Father's knowledge of the petitioner's needs, even before he asks (or knocks or seeks): novit pater vester quid vobis opus sit priusquam petatis ab eo. (This is of course only a repetition of what has been said and implied throughout the narrative of Augustine's life.) Next, we have a direct allusion to Matt 7:7 in 11.2.3: Neque adversus pulsantes c/audas eam (sc. legem) [And do not close the gate to us as we knock], and then a conglomeration of allusions in 11.2.4: Quae omnia nobis apponuntur quaerentibus regnum et iustitiam tuam ... placeat in conspectu misericoriae tuae in venire me gratiam ante te, ut aperiantur pulsanti mihi interiora sermonum tuorum ... obsecro per dominum nostrum lesum Christum ... per quem nos quaesisti non quaerentes te, quaesisti autem ut quaereremus te [They are all things added to us as we seek your kingdom and your righteousness (Matt 6:31) ... May it please you that in the sight of your mercy (Ps 18:15) I may find grace before you, so that to me as I knock (Matt 7:7) may be opened the hidden meaning of your words ... I make my prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ ... By Him you sought us that we should seek you]. The allusions certainly serve to underscore the searching spirit with which the reading of scripture is approached, the awareness of own inadequacy and of the gravity of the task as well as the urgency of the appeal. It is important to note that where the object of the search in previous allusions soon became strongly identified with God or the beata vita, it is now explicitly formulated as interiora sermonum tuorum, another argument for my observation that protreptic purpose has yielded to paraenetic: the reader has already found God, has already converted. What she is seeking now is a deeper understanding of God, through studying his word. Thus, the last two significant allusions to Matt 7:7 occur far apart (at the opening of book 12 and the close of book 13), but the spirit in which Augustine's reading of Gen 1:1-2:2 is presented throughout is that of the humble petitioner, consistently knocking to gain entrance into the mystery of scripture. I am convinced that allusion to Matt 7:7 is one of the devices intended 136 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za to give the reader an important clue as to how Augustine's reading of Genesis is to be read: It is a window on a believer trying to move nearer to God. It is the embodiment of the difficulty all experience in the face of reading God's Word. It is also an illustration of the problems associated with all forms of communication, and it does not pretend to offer all the answers, as 11.2.2 states: Et olim inardesco meditari in lege tua et in ea tibi confiteri scientiam et imperitiam meam, primordia inluminationis tuae et reliquias tenebrarum mearum [For a long time past I have been burning to meditate in your law (Ps 38:4) and confess to you what I know of it and what lies beyond my powers - the first elements granted by your illumination and the remaining areas of darkness in my understanding]. I conclude this section with a look at the allusions to Matt 7:7 in books 12 and 13 of the Confessions. The opening paragraph of book 12 is constructed almost in its entirety around allusions to Matt 7:7. The description explicates once again the difficulties of the activity of reading as well as the problems surrounding communicating the findings of a reading (in a beautiful sentence that any academic reader of literature must identify with!): Et ideo plerumque in sermone copiosa est egestas humanae intellegentiae, quia plus loquitur inquisitio quam inventio, et longior est petitio quam impetratio, et operosior est manus pulsans quam sumens [All too frequently the poverty of human intelligence has plenty to say, for inquiry employs more words than the discovery of the solution; it takes longer to state a request than to have it granted, and the hand which knocks has more work to do than the hand which receives]. This is followed by the first complete quotation of Matt 7:7, framed by references to God's promises in a way that underlines the meaning of the quotation for Augustine here. It emphasizes his need to reassure himself that in spite of the daunting nature of the project he has embarked on (a fact he takes pains to constantly remind the reader of), he will be successful. This serves once again to direct the reader's attention to the fact that he is not presented here with a cut and dried thought out exegesis, but rather with a view on the process that reading entails, with indications about the spirit in which such a reading should be undertaken. A paraenetic assurance that in prayerful reliance on God anyone can do this. There are quite a number of occurrences of quaerere, invenire, and the other important verbs from Matt 7:7 in the course of the narrative of books 12 and 13 that I do not examine here, having pointed out that the reader has been warned that she is allowed to watch the process of knocking throughout the last 3 books of the Confessions. 137 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Let us look at the way Matt 7:7 is used to conclude the work. After the three rhetorical questions implying still the difficulty of understanding God's mysteries (thus summing up the attitude with which the reading of Genesis has been presented), all Augustine can do is to exhort the reader (he still does not address the reader directly, but God) in the words and images of Matt 7:7 to perpetuate the process that he has just seen played out: the reader must keep on (suggested by the present tense) asking, seeking and knocking. But the emphasis is on the source towards which these activities should be directed, in the initial repetition of a te, in te, ad te. The reader is sent on his way with the consolation Augustine's certainty (expressed in Augustine's future indicatives uttered of in God's presence) that she will be successful: Sic, sic accipietur, sic invenietur, sic aperietur [Yes indeed, that is how it is received, how it is found, how the door is opened]. 4.4 How Pervasive are the Indications of Protreptic-Paraenetic Intent? The objective of the following section of the dissertation is to show that direct or indirect indications of protreptic purpose are sustained throughout the work. This is, however, the section of the analysis where the frustration of the literary analyst at being unable to unravel more than one thread of the text at a time is especially pronounced. The Scylla and Charybdis constantly threatening the meta-text, here even more than in other sections, are saying too much too repetitively (so that the reader becomes bored) and saying too little (so that the reader gets lost along the way). The other caveat that I was constantly aware of is the tendency to find too easily what one is looking for,20 to read into the text what you want to see there. Nevertheless, I find an overview of the distribution of the articulations of protreptic purpose in the Confessions such a central aspect of this study that I am willing to risk the dangers, and to try to convince the reader that there is no book or lengthy section of narrative in the Confessions where protreptic-paraenetic narrator's mind. Many of the instances purpose is not one of the important issues on the cited here are of course treated under other Walker's warning (1952, 10) is one that always stays with me because I have so often perceived this to be the case in the analyses of ancient texts, especially dense and multidimensional texts like the Confessions. 20 138 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za headings above and below but I refer to them again cursorily in order to present the picture of sustained attention to protreptic concerns. Other instances, especially short and often unexpected or isolated direct utterances of protreptic purpose, are discussed only here. There is also one feature of the narrative that contributes largely to its sustained protreptic character that I do not discuss here. This is the narrator's constant awareness of his audience, which I treat in chapter 5 because I want to focus on a specific segment of the audience, the Manicheans, for reasons already implied in the analysis in chapter 3. 4.4.1 In Book 1 After the implicit but sure indications of protreptic intent in Conf 1.1.1 (discussed in 4.1 above) the first formulation that patently displays protreptic intent occurs in the conclusion of 1.10.16. Augustine, in the course of confessing the sins of his childhood, comes to the realization that the parents of other children like him, often prominent citizens who could sponsor shows in the circus or theatre, are no better off than their children. This leads to a prayer, which, the context seems to indicate, is for these people but which unexpectedly widens its scope to become a prayer for nothing less than the salvation of all of mankind: Vide ista, domine, misericorditer et libera nos iam invocantes te, libera etiam eos qui non dum te invocant. ut invocent te et liberes eos [Look with mercy (Ps 24:2628) on these follies, Lord, and deliver us (Ps 78:9) who now call upon you. Deliver also those who do not as yet pray, that they may call upon you and you may set them free]. This movement from the specific moment in the autobiographical general context is characteristic narrative to a wider throughout the Confessions. The life story provides the springboard for a narrative that is much more universal than specific. (This is of course typical of ancient biography and autobloqraphy.)" Where the story moves on to Augustine's experiences with the stage and the stock motive of Jupiter's immoral conduct near the end of Book 1 (1.16.25), the influence a represented life can have on the observer is stated explicitly: Pleading for deliverance of the folly of traditional education (which the context makes this, among other things) is of course also part of the recurring theme that classical education is in many ways a waste of time, that children of God should be educated on more worth while texts, although the suggestions never become more concrete than a potent dissatisfaction with the system Augustine grew up with. 21 139 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Sed actum est ut haberet auctoritatem ad imitandum verum adu/terium /enocinante fa/so tonitru ... sed verius dicitur quod fingebat haec quidem iIIe, sed hominibus f1agitiosis divina tribuendo, ne f1agitia f1agitia putarentur et ut, quisquis ea fecisset, non homines perditos sed cae/estes deos videretur imitatus [But he was so described as to give an example of real adultery defended by the authority of a fictitious thunderclap acting as a go-between ... It would be truer to say that Homer indeed invented these fictions, but he attributed divine sanction to vicious acts, which had the result that immorality was no longer counted immorality and anyone who so acted would seem to follow the example not of abandoned men but of the gods in heaven]. The theme of the influence of lives (lived and represented) on other lives is also present in 1.18.28 where Augustine talks about his teachers: Quid autem mitum, quod in vanitates ita ferbar et quando mihi imitandi proponebantur a te, deus meus, ibam foras, homines qui ... [When one considers the men proposed to me as models for my imitation, it is no wonder that in this way I was swept along by vanities and travelled right away from you my God]; and in 1.19.30 where he describes as part of the sins of his youth his desire to imitate what was presented to him in the theater: Ubi etiam talibus disp/icebam fal/endo innumerabilibus mendaciis et paedagogum et magistros et parentes amore /udendi, studio spectandi nugatoria et imitandi /udicra inquietudine [Shocking even the worldly set by the innumerable lies with which I deceived the slave who took me to school and my teachers and parents because of my love of games, my passion for frivolous spectacles, and my restless urge to imitate comic scenes]. In his excellent article "The Conversion of Vergil: The Aeneid in Augustine's Confessions" Bennett (1988, 47-69) discusses in detail Augustine's theories on reading implicit in his references to Vergil in the Confessions. Most of the points Bennett makes support my reading of the work. First there is his insistence (57-58) that all literature invites the reader to identify with the characters it portrays, that literature shapes action and that the ancient educational system actually encouraged the recognition of this relationship between life and literature.F A further important point Bennett makes concerns Augustine's efforts in the "What Augustine did naturally and unconsciously in his childish reading of Vergil was institutionalised in education. Little Augustine had to pretend to be Juno" (Bennett 1988, 58). 22 140 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Confessions to educate the type of reader that can successfully read this work: "At this point - after his conversion ... Augustine has become a proper reader. The Confessions is designed as, in part, an exemplary story of the education of a reader" (1988, 65). In my own reading I have constantly emphasized that Augustine intends the reader to speak and pray with him, to develop with him. This would imply that when reaching book 9 (or 10) of the work, the reader of the Confessions has also become "a proper reader." Lastly, the emphasis Bennett places on Augustine's portrayal of the differences between what he calls the figmenta of pagan literature on one side of the spectrum and conversion stories on the other end of the spectrum, also provides clues as to the function Augustine sees his own conversion narrative fulfilling. Like the conversion stories that are described as having a profound influence on him in book 8, his own conversion story provides an "accurate" model that encourages "self-identification," and that acts "as a mirror" because it is "historical, not fictional" (Bennett 1988, 66-67). The next passage reassurances I quote (1.18.28) is one that forms part of a constant stream of that God is always near and always ready to receive with open arms whoever turns to Him, which I interpret as part of the awareness of the protreptic function the text can fulfil:23 Et nunc eruis de hoc inmanissimo prof undo quaerentem delectationes te animam et sitientem tuas, et cuius cor dicit tioi, 'quaesivi vultum tuum.' vultum tuum, domine, requiram: nam longe a vultu tuo in affectu tenebroso [Even at this moment you are delivering from this terrifying abyss the soul who seeks for you and thirsts for your delights (Ps 41 :3), whose heart tells you 'I have sought your face; your face, Lord, I will seek' (Ps 26:8). To be far from your face is to be in the darkness of passion]. In addition we have here the combination of two scriptural quotations that recur regularly and carry important meaning (and also have protreptic implications) throughout: the emphasis on seeking (quaerentem, quaesivi, requiram), which echoes Matt 7:7 (occurring in the prologue, as I have shown, and discussed in greater detail in chapter 4.3) and the references to the story of the prodigal son from Lk15: 11-32. The phrase longe a vultu tuo in affectu tenebroso is explained, in the section directly following the quotation, by the example of the prodigal son (filius iIIe tuus minor), an example that per se stands for the The theme of God's abiding presence is also found for example in 2.2.4 (nam semper aderas); that God was never silent in 2.3.7 (audio dicere tacuisse te ... et cuius errant nisi tua verba ilia per matrem meam, quae cantasti in aures meas?) 23 141 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za assurance of a joyful reception by the Father, no matter how badly the culprit may have erred: a fact that could form a basic tenet of any Christian protreptic text. In book 2.3.5 the first explicit recognition of the human audience of the Confessions is coupled with an expression of protreptic intent: Cui narro haec? negue enim fibi, deus meus, sed apud te narro haec generi meo, generi humano, guantulacumgue ex particula incidere potest in istas meas litteras. et ut quid hoc? ut videlicet ego et guisguis haec legit cogitemus de guam prof undo clamandum sit ad te [To whom do I tell these things? Not to you, my God. But before you I declare this to my race, to the human race, though only a tiny part can light on this composition of mine. And why do I include this episode? It is that I and any of my readers may reflect on the great depth from which we have to cry to you (Ps 129: 1)]. The last sentence makes the passage much more than an acknowledgement that the Confessions is intended to be read by a human audience. It is an implicit statement of protreptic intent. Although as it stands the emphasis seems to be on how far man may be removed from God (de quam prof undo clamandum sit), the underlying implication is that the speaker (Augustine) together with his audience ("we" in cogitemus) should think about God and call out to Him, i.e. seek Him and seek to be converted to Him, no matter how far from God he may perceive himself to be. This idea is, however, put into circulation almost on a subliminal level. Augustine is not yet interested in telling his audience outright that his intention is to convert them. 4.4.2 In Book 2 Throughout presentation the narrative of Book 2 the reader is never allowed to forget that the of Augustine's life story is first and foremost a representation restlessness that results from being separated from God. The autobiographical of the narrative remains an illustration of the all the negative aspects of a life without God, an illustration that should by implication incite the reader to abhor this kind of life and seek an alternative as Augustine has done. The definitions of protreptic in chapter 2.2 point to exactly this modus operandi in protreptic texts: to expose the human condition and to reveal the inner inconsistency in the philosopher's hearers in order to convince them to convert. We have, for example, in 2.1.1: 142 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Recordari volo transactas (oeditates meas et carnales corruptions animae meae, non quod eas amem, sed ut amem te, deus meus ... ut tu dulcescas mihi [I intend to remind myself of my past foulnesses and carnal corruptions, not because I love them but so that I may love you, my God ... so that you may be sweet to me]; in 2.2.3: Non enim longe est a nobis omnipotentia tua, etiam cum longe sumus a te [Your omnipotence is never far from us, even when we are far from you]; in 2.2.4 (note the medical imagery implicit in sanes): Tu semper aderas misericorditer saeviens, et amarissimis aspargens offensionibus omnes inlicitas iucunditates meas ut ita quaere rem sine offensione iucundari, et ubi hoc possem, non invenirem quicquam praeter te, domine, praeter te, qui fingis dolor em in praecepto et percutis, ut sanes, et occidis nos, ne moriamur abs te [For you were always with me, mercifully punishing me, touching with a bitter taste all my illicit pleasures. Your intention was that I should seek delights unspoilt by disgust and that, in my quest where I could achieve this, I should discover it to be nothing except you Lord, nothing but you. You 'fashion pain to be a lesson' (Ps 93:20 LXX), you 'strike to heal,' you bring death upon us so that we should not die apart from you (Deut. 32:39)]; and in 2.3.6-7 (note the imagery of the way and journeying, and the theme of God's constant calling to man): Timuit tamen vias distortas, in quibus ambulant qui ponunt ad te tergum et non teciem; Ei mihi! Et audio dicere tacuisse te, deus meus, cum irem abs te longius? Itane tu tacebas tunc mihi? Et cuius erant nisi tua verba ilia per matrem meam, fidelem tuam, quae cantasti in aures meas? [She feared the twisted paths along which walk those who turn their backs and not their face towards you (Jer. 2:27). Wretch that I am, do I dare to say that you, my God, were silent when in reality I was traveling farther from you? Was it in this sense that you kept silence to me? Then whose words were they but yours which you were chanting in my ears through my mother, your faithful servant?]; One of the many things that can be said about the story of the pear theft that makes up the rest of book 2 (Con( 2.4.9-2.11.18) is that it is more a meditation on the nature of sin in general than on the specific incident. The things man crave, for example, are represented as false imitations of God's attributes, like power, honour, glory, beauty or love. In 2.6.14 the impression is created that the whole episode has been included in the narrative to lead 143 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za up to a general statement about the condition of the godless man (note once again the imagery of journeying away from or to God and verbs of seeking and finding): Ita fornicatur anima, cum averlitur abs te et quaerit extra te ea quae pura et liquida non in venit, nisi cum redit ad te. Perverse te imitantur omnes, qui longe se a te faciunt et extollunt se adversum te. Sed etiam sic te imitando indicant creatorem te esse omnis naturae et ideo non esse, quo a te omni modo recedatur [So the soul fornicates (Ps 72:27) when it is turned away form you and seeks outside you the pure and clear intentions which are not to be found except by returning to you. In their perverted way all humanity imitates you. Yet they put themselves at a distance from you and exalt themselves against you. But even by thus imitating you they acknowledge that you are the creator of all nature and so concede that there is no place where one can entirely escape from you]. This is followed by more general statements in the same vain, like the paraenetic exhortation in 2.7.15, which also displays the same protreptic-paraenetic themes: Qui enim vocatus a te secutus est vocem tuam et vitavit ea quae me de me ipso recordantem et fatentem legit, non me derideat ab eo medico aegrum sanari, a quo sibi praestitum est, ut non aegrotaret, vel potios ut minus aegrotaret, et ideo te tantumdem, immo vero amplius diligat, quia per quem me videt tan tis peccatorum meorum languoribus exui, per eum se videt tan tis peccatorum languoribus non inplicari [If man is called by you, follows your voice, and has avoided doing those acts which I am recalling and avowing in my own life, he should not mock the healing of a sick man by the Physician, whose help has kept him from falling sick, or at least enabled him to be less gravely ill. He should love you no less, indeed even more; for he sees that the one who delivered me from the great sicknesses of my sins is also he through whom he may see that he himself has not been a victim of the same great sicknesses]. 4.4.3 In Book 3 Let us move on to book 3 where the main subject is Augustine's "fall" into Manicheism during his period of study in Carthage. The most important protreptic section here is his description of the influence of the Horlensius on his inner life (in 3.4.7 to 3.5.9, discussed in 4.5.1 below). The incident (preceding his turn to the Manicheans) is represented as causing a radical change of direction in Augustine's life. The description conscious use of protreptic phrases and topoi, which are discussed 4.5.1. 144 of the event makes in greater detail in Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za But, like in book 2, protreptic intention seems to be present throughout book 3. I quote a few instances. In 3.1.1 we find the expression of the unsatisfactory nature of the previous way of living: Famis mihi erat intus ab interiore cibo, te ipso, deus meus, et ea fame non esuriebam, sed eram sine desiderio alimentorum incorruptibilium, non quia plenus eis eram, sed quo inanior, fastidiosior. Et ideo non bene valebat anima mea [My hunger was internal, deprived of inward food, that is of you yourself, my God. But that was not the kind of hunger I felt. I was without any desire for incorruptible nourishment, not because I was replete with it, but the emptier I was, the more unappetizing such food became. So my soul was in rotten health]. In 3.2.3 we have a direct exhortation to the own soul: Cave immunditiam, anima mea, sub tutore deo meo, deo patrum nostrorum et laudabili et superexaltato in omnia saecula, cave immunditiam [But my soul, be on your guard against uncleanness, under the protection of God, 'the God of our fathers, to be praised and exalted above all for all ages' (Dan. 3:52-5); be on your guard against uncleanness]; and in 3.3.5, a reassurance of God's presence in the midst of the most abject sinfulness: Et circum vola bat super me fidelis a longe misericordia tua. In quantas iniquitates distabui et sacrilega curiositate secutus sum [Your mercy faithfully hovered over me from afar. In what iniquities was I wasting myself! I pursued a sacrilegious quest for knowledge]. The section of Book 3 where Augustine describes his first encounter with Manicheism is in many ways a representation of the errors of Manichean beliefs, offset by the repetition of haec ergo tunc nesciebam (3.7.14) and haec ego nesciens (3.10.18). The tone is polemical and it fits in perfectly with a general protreptic progression as the negative feature, the depiction of the inferior way. His treatment (cursory at this stage) of the Manichean question unde malum leads to generalizing about sin that in many ways continues where the last section of book 2 left off. The theme of God's patient (if invisible) presence in the face of man's movement away from Him is also kept alive in the following three sections: In 3.6.11: Ubi ergo mihi tunc eras et quam longe? Et longe peregrinabar abs te, exclusus et a siliquis porcorum quos de siliquis pascebam [At that time where were you in relation to me? Far distant. Indeed I wandered far away, separated from you, not even granted to share in the husks of the pigs, whom I was feeding with husks]; 145 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za in 3.8.16 (containing a long warning and including the reader through first person plural verbs and pronouns): Et ea fiunt cum te dere/inqueris, fans vitae, qui es unus et verus creator et rector universitatis, et privata superbia diligitur in parte unum fa/sum. /taque pietate humi/i reditur in te, et purges nos a consuetudine ma/a, et propitius es peccatis confitentium, et exaudis gemitus compeditarum, et so/ves a vinculis quae nobis fecimus, si iam non erigamus adversus te cornua fa/sae libertatis, avaritia plus habendi et damno tatum amittendi, amplius amanda proprium nostrum qua te, omnium bonum [That is the outcome when you are abandoned, fount of life and the one true Creator and Ruler of the entire universe, when from a self-concerned pride a false unity is loved in the part. Return to you is along the path of devout humility. You purify us of evil habit, and you are merciful to the sins we confess. You hear the groans of prisoners (Ps 101:21) and release us from the chains we have made for ourselves, on condition that we do not erect against you the horns (Ps 74:5f.) of a false liberty by avaricious desire to possess more and, at the risk of losing everything, through loving our private interest more than you, the good of all that is]; and in 3.11.19: Misisti manum tuam ex a/to et de hac profunda caligine eruisti animam meam, cum pro me fleret ad te mea mater ['You put forth your hand from on high' (Ps 143:7), and from this deep darkness 'you delivered my soul' (Ps 85:13). For my mother, your faithful servant, wept for me before you]. 4.4.4 In Book 4 In book 4 the protreptic appeal to the reader starts at the center of the book, in 4.10.15 where the quotation from Ps 79 expresses the desire for God literally to turn man towards Him so that he may be saved (once again, the reader reading this out loud, would be praying for salvation): Deus virtutum, converte nos et ostende faciem tuam et sa/vi erimus. Nam quoquoversum se verterit anima hominis, ad dolores figitur alibi praeterquam in te ['0 God of hosts, turn us and show us your face, and we shall be safe' (Ps 79:8). For wherever the human soul turns itself, other than to you, it is fixed in sorrows]. The context here is Augustine's reflection on the loss of his unnamed friend (in the opening paragraphs of book 4) and the expression of his conviction that attaching oneself to anyone or anything but God will lead only to disappointment. 146 The heightened emotional tone the Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za narrative has reached here is indeed a well-chosen moment to introduce an appeal for conversion. Although my interpretation may seem to stretch the text here, it is reinforced by the strong protreptic content of the following paragraphs 4.11.16-4.12.19 where Augustine talks to his own soul and makes this soul address other souls (discussed in 4.2 above). Book 4 also ends (4.16.31) with protreptic phrases and hortative verbs in the first person plural that makes the reader participate in the appeal to God (note also the consolatory tone of the passage): o domine deus noster, in velamen to alarum tuarum speremus, et protege nos et porta nos ... vivit apud te semper bonum nostrum, et quia inde aversi sumus, perversi sumus, revertamur iam, domine, ut non evertamur, quia vivit apud te sine ul/o defectu bonum nostrum, quod tu ipse es, et non timemus ne non sit quo redeamus, quia nos inde ruimus. Nobis autem absentibus non ruit domus nostra, aetemitas tua [0 Lord our God, under the covering of your wings (Exod. 19:4) we set our hope. Protect us and bear us up ... Our good is life with you for ever, and because we turned away from that, we became twisted. Let us now return to you that we may not be overturned. Our good is life with you and suffers no deficiency (Ps 101:28); for you yourself are that good. We have no fear that there is no home to which we may return because we fell from it. During our absence our house suffers no ruin; it is your eternity]. 4.4.5 In Book 5 Although book 5 does not contain the same emphasis on protreptic appeal to the reader, the theme is nevertheless not allowed to slip completely. It is kept alive especially in the opening paragraphs and at the end of the book. The prologue of book 5 is discussed in more detail in chapter 5 below as an instance of Augustine's constant awareness of his audience, a theme that is of course very closely related to that of making protreptic appeals to this same audience. In 5.1.1 the protretpic intention is situated in the assurance, or warning, to the reader that he or she will not be able to hold out against God in the long term, i.e. that eventual conversion is inescapable: Oculum tuum non excludit cor clausum nec manum tuam repellit duritia hominum, sed solves eam cum voles, aut miserans aut vindicans, et non est qui se abscondat a calore tuo [The closed heart does not shut out your eye, and your hand is not kept away by the hardness of humanity, but you melt that when you wish, either in mercy or in punishment, and there is 'none who can hide from your heat' (Ps 18:7)]. 147 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za The protreptic intention is also carried by the frequent references to viae throughout this book and the assurance of God's long-suffering presence, even in the face of man's contempt, in the oblique reference to the prodigal son in 5.12.22 (in the context of his description of the unruly behaviour of students in Rome): Contemnendo te manentem et revocantem et ignoscentem redeunti ad te meretrici animae humanae [They despise you, though you abide and call the prodigal back and pardon the human soul for its harlotry when it returns to you]; coupled with the reference to how he now thinks about such people, a reference that testifies to a constant awareness of his responsibility for his fellow man: Nunc tales odi pravos et distortos, quamvis eos corrigendos diligam [Today too I hate such wicked and perverted people, though I love them as people in need of correction]. Book 5 ends with the description of Augustine's encounter with Ambrose in Milan. An important aspect of this narrative is that it displays Augustine's awareness of how a reader may be touched by a sermon (or a text) in a way completely unforeseen by him or her. This is in many ways a repetition of the circumstances surrounding the reading of the Hortensius (reading or listening not for the sake of the subject matter but for the sake of style only which achieves the opposite effect of the one expected) and a reaffirmation of the importance of the theme of reading or listening and how this can affect the lives of readers or hearers. For now it is important to show that the strand of protreptic appeal (here in the reminder of the possibility of the protreptic effect of a text) is sustained also through to the end of book 5. 4.4.6 In Book 6 In books 6 and 7 of the Confessions there are few direct expressions of protreptic intent. Instead we find in these two books, more pronounced in book 6 than in book 7, an accretion of protreptic topoi, especially the imagery of the way (or two ways) and medical imagery. The main thrust of these books remains, however, intellectual progress: a process of gradually becoming liberated from Manichean ways of thinking and resolving the pressing questions of unde malum and quid est deus. These books are protreptic mostly in the sense that they represent the negative stage in protreptic texts, the stage where opposing views are refuted. In book 6, although the subject matter seems a somewhat disjunctive conglomeration of topics (Monnica's arrival, encounters with Ambrose and a beggar, a short biography of 148 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Alypius, marriage plans and the dismissal of Augustine's concubine), the tension of the narrative, moving excruciatingly towards conversion, never slackens: "the book represents undiluted, though often painful, progress" (O'Donnell 1992, 2:329). And progress, especially in books 3 to 7 of the Confessions, implies liberation from Manichean ways of thinking, which in its turn implies the polemic treatment of the tenets of Manichean religion. The reader is taken from the question evoking the theme of God's abiding presence in the opening words of the book: Spes mea a iuventute mea, ubi mihi eras et quo recesseras? ['My hope from my youth' (Ps 70:5), where were you, and where did you 'withdraw' from me (Ps 10:1)?]; through statements about his desire for progress (in 6.4.6): Volebam enim eorum quae non viderem ita me certum fieri ut certus essem quod septem et tria decem sint [I wanted to be as certain about things I could not see as I am certain that seven and three are ten]; about God's guiding presence (employing the topos of the way) in 6.5.8: Suspirabam et audiebas me, fluctuabam et gubernabas me, ibam per viam saeculi latam nee deserebas [I sighed and you heard me. I wavered and you steadied me. I travelled along the broad way of the world, but you did not desert me]; about the unacceptable condition of the godless life in 6.6.10: Et inveniebam male mihi esse et dolebam et condyplicabam ipsum male [And my state I found to be bad; this caused me further suffering and a redoubling of my sense of futility]; about reading the Hortensius and his impatience with the lack of progress in 6.11.18: Satagens et recolens quam longum tempus esset ab undevicensimo anno aetatis meae, quo fervere coeperam studio sapientiae ... et ecce iam tricenariam aetatem gerebam, in eodem luto haesitans [As I anxiously reflected how long a time had elapsed since the nineteenth year of my life, when I began to burn with a zeal for wisdom ... and here I was already thirty, and still mucking about in the same mire]; about impatience and conversion in 6.11.20: Transibant tempora et tardabam converti ad dominum, et differebam de die in diem vivere in te [Time passed by. I 'delayed turning to the Lord' and postponed 'from day to day' (Ecclus. 5:8) finding life in you]; 149 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za and about God's presence and the unsatisfactory condition of the previous life in 6.16.26: Ego fiebam miserior et tu propinquior. aderat iam iamque dextera tua raptura me de caeno et ab/utura, et ignorabam [As I became unhappier, you came closer. Your right hand was by me, already prepared to snatch me out of the filth (Jer. 28:13), and to clean me up. But I did not know it]; towards a repetition of the assurance of God's presence in the closing lines of the book (6.16.26), which is at the same time a powerful consolation to the reader, an affirmation that conversion and final certainty is possible: Et ecce ades et liberas a miserabi/ibus erroribus et constituis nos in via tua et conso/aris et dicis, 'currite, ego feram et ego perducam et ibi ego feram' [You are present, liberating us from miserable errors, and you put us on your way, bringing comfort and saying: 'Run, I will carry you, and I will see you through to the end, and there I will carry you' (Isa. 46:4)]. 4.4.7 In Book 7 In book 7 we find in many ways the culmination of the negative stage of the protreptic, here the final refutation (for this narrative) of two central Manichean positions: Manichean claims about the nature of God and of evil. The subject of God's nature is announced in 7.1.1 with Quanto aetate maior, tanto vanitate turpior, qui cogitare aliquid substantiae nisi tale non poteram, qua/e per hos ocu/os videri so/et [But the older I became, the more shameful it was that I retained so much vanity as to be unable to think any substance possible other than that which the eyes normally perceive]; qualified as Manichean in nature by C/amabat violenter cor meum adversus omnia phantasmata mea [My heart vehemently protested against all the physical images in my rnind]." The issue is resolved with the help of the concepts of Neo-Platonic thought in 7.9.13- 7.10.15. Manichean Nebridius' claims about the nature of evil is introduced argument (it questions through the discussion the role of the realm of darkness of in Manichean In chapter 3.2 I argue that in the Confessions the term phantasmata very often denotes Manichean doctrine. 24 150 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za cosmology) in 7.2.3 and resolved in 7.11.17-7.16.22 as the following quotation from 7.16.22 indicates: Et quaesivi quid esset iniquitas et non inveni substantiam, sed te deo, detortae tumescentis in infima voluntatis perversitatem, a summa substantia, proicientis intima sua et totes [I inquired what wickedness is; and I did not find a substance but a perversity of will twisted away from the highest substance, you 0 God, towards inferior things, rejecting its own inner life (Ecclus. 10: 10) and swelling with external matter]. Augustine's encounter with the Platonicorum Libri described in 7.9.13 convinces him that the one weakness of the Neo-Platonic system is that they lack a mediator through which man may reach God. They knew the goal but not the road that lead there (as the last paragraph of book 7 makes clear): Et aliud est de silvestri cacumine videre patriam pacis et iter ad eam non invenire ... et aliud tenere viam iIIuc ducentem [It is one thing from a wooded summit to catch a glimpse of the homeland of peace and not to find the way to it ... It is another thing to hold on to the way that leads there]. From 7.18.24 up to the end of book 7 we find the reflections on Christ and the tncarnatlon." After a lyrical passage describing, in 7.18.24, the Christ he could not yet conceive of, Christum lesum ... cibum, cui capiendo invalidus eram ... non enim tenebam deum meum lesum, humilis humilem [Christ Jesus ... The food which I was too weak to accept ... To possess my God, the humble Jesus, I was not yet humble enough]; Augustine relates the false perceptions he held at the time in 7.19.25: Ego vera aliud putabam tantumque sentiebam de domino Christo mea, quantum de excel/en tis sapientiae viro cui nul/us posset aequari [I had a different notion, since I thought of Christ my Lord only as a man of excellent wisdom which none could equal]. This affirms what has been true of the previous sections of book 7, namely that the protreptic nature of the book is embodied in the refutation of the claims of rival groups, of O'Donnell (1992, 2:459-460) gives a concise discussion of the salient aspects of Augustine's Christology and its development. 25 151 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za whom the one this study focuses on, the Manicheans, constitutes an important - perhaps the most important - part." 4.4.8 In Book 8 The protreptic character of the eighth book of the Confessions is situated mainly in the way it illustrates, repeatedly, the effect of protreptic texts, spoken or written, on their readers or hearers. But this is discussed in detail in chapter 4.5.2 below. 4.4.9 In Book 9 Book 9 of the Confessions is the book O'Donnell (1992, 3:72) calls "the book of death and rebirth," with the "death and rebirth of Augustine" constituting the first half of the book and the "death and rebirth of Monnica" the second. The ninth book is in many ways a conclusion to the autobiographical (and biographical) part of the work, effected through the recapitulation of the (auto)biographical themes from books 1-8. As far as the story of Augustine's conversion is concerned, we have the extension of the narrative up to his baptism and the rounding autobiographical off of the more or less diachronical narrative up to this point." In the proem (9.1.1) we have the recapitulation of the completed narrative about Augustine: Tu autem, domine, bonus et misericors, et dexter a tua respiciens profunditatem mortis meae et a fundo cordis mei exhauriens abyssum corruptionis [But you, Lord, 'are good and merciful' (Ps 102:8). Your right hand had regard to the depth of my dead condition, and from the bottom of my heart had drawn out a trough of corruption]; and, typical of Augustine's style in the proems to individual books of the Confessions, a foreshadowing of the journey into his own mind described in book 10: In Augustine's polemical statements about Christology in the Confessions he presumably treats more than just the Manichean position. See O'Donnell's remarks (1992, 2:459-460 and 467). 26 Book 10 is still autobiographical but describes Augustine at the time of writing of the Confessions and omits the years between baptism and the author's present. Also in concentrating on the present the fibre of the text in book 10 becomes more purely reflexive and less narrative. 27 152 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Ubi erat tam annoso tempore et de quo imo a/toque secreto evocatum est in momento liberum arbitrium meum [But where through so many years was my freedom of will? From what deep and hidden recess was it called out in a moment?] Thus the proem refers to the conversion story, an important element in a protreptic text as I have shown, and to the illustration of how to find God within the self, which, I argue below, is an integral part of the protreptic-paraenetic purpose of the whole. It is important to note that in the conclusion of the narrative of Augustine's conversion some of the protreptic themes I have discussed are also recapitulated. This is also the case in the tying of loose ends of the stories of other people who played minor roles in the first part of the narrative (Verecundus, Nebridius, Alypius, and Adeodatus). Theirs are also stories of death and rebirth, in the sense that for each of them, apart from their death at some later stage, their conversion is reported as an important event in a life-story that is only a few lines long. Thus we have of Verecundus, as part of a 17-line summary, all of the following information about his conversion in 9.3.5: Nondum christian us, coniuge fide/i, ea ipsa tamen arliore prae ceteris compede ab intinere quod aggressi eramus retardabatur, nec christianum esse alio modo se velle dicebat quam iIIo quo non poterat ... corporali aegritudine correptus et in ea christianus et fidelis factus ex hac vita emigravit ita miserlus es non solum eius sed etiam nostri, ne cogitantes egregiam erga nos amici humanitatem nec eum in grege tuo numerantes ooiore into/erabi/i cruciaremur [He was not yet a Christian, but his wife was a baptized believer. Fettered by her more than anything else, he was held back from the journey on which we had embarked. He used to say that he did not wish to be a Christian except in the way which was not open to him ... he was taken ill in body, and in his sickness departed this life a baptized Christian. So you had mercy not only on him but also on us. We would have felt tortured by unbearable pain if, in thinking of our friend's outstanding humanity to us, we could not have numbered him among your flock]. In the story of Nebridius's death and rebirth (in 9.3.6) the parallels with Augustine's intellectual quest for truth (also following the road via Manicheism) are obvious, as is the emphasis on the importance of being converted and converting others: Quamvis enim et ipse nondum christianus in iIIam foveam pemiciosissimi erroris inciderat ut veritatis filii tui camem phantasma crederet, tamen inde emergens sic sibi erat, nondum ardentissimus imbutus veritatis. ullis quem ecclesiae non 153 multo tuae sacramentis, post conversionem sed inquisitor nostram et Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za regenerationem per baptismum tuum ipsum etiam fide/em catholicum, castitate perfecta atque continentia tibi servientem in Africa apud suos, cum tota domus eius per eum christiana facta esset. carne so/visti. et nunc iIIe vivit in sinu Abraham [He was also not yet a Christian. He had fallen into that ditch of pernicious (Manichee) error which taught him to believe that the flesh of your Son, the truth, was illusory. Nevertheless he had emerged from that to the attitude that, though no yet initiated into any of the sacraments of your Church, he was an ardent seeker after truth. Soon after my conversion and regeneration by your baptism, he too became a baptized Catholic believer. He was serving you in perfect chastity and continence among his own people in Africa, and through him his entire household became Christian, when you released him from bodily life. Now he lives in Abraham's bosom (Luke 16:22)]. Alypius' conversion was reported in book 8, parallel to that of Augustine, and is also recapitulated here in (9.4.7): Du/ce mihi fit, domine, confiteri tibi ... quoque modo ipsum etiam A/ypium, fratrem cordis mei, subegeris nomini unigeniti tui, domini et sa/vatoris nostri Jesu Christi [It becomes sweet for me, Lord, to confess to you ... how you subjected Alypius too, my heart's brother, to the name of your only-begotten Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 3: 18)]; just as his baptism is reported parallel to Augustine's in 9.6.14: P/acuit et A/ypio renasci in te mecum [Alypius also decided to join me in being reborn to you]. Also Adeodatus' Christian life, death, and baptism is reported in 9.6.14: Cito de terra abstulisti vitam elus, et securior eum recordor non timens quicquam pueritia nec adu/escentiae nec omnino homini iIIi. sociavimus eum coaevum nobis in gratia tua [Early on you took him away from life on earth. I recall him with no anxiety; there was nothing to fear in his boyhood or adolescence or indeed his manhood. We associated him with us so as to be of the same age as ourselves in your grace]. This is followed by the sentence et baptizati sumus, probably indicating that Adeodatus was also baptized together with Augustine and Alypius.28 It is clear that book 9 contributes to 28 Courcelle (1963, 67) refers to "leur commun baptême de 387." 154 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za the bigger picture of the paradigmatic character of book 8 in the sense that it contains additional conversion stories that complement the cluster of conversion stories in book 8. 29 The most pronounced protreptic element in the conclusion of Augustine's life story remains, however, his presentation of the meditation on Ps 4 (analysed in chapter 3) in the sense that this is the most direct appeal to the Manicheans in the Confessions. As I have argued in chapter 3, this passage derives additional significance form the fact that it is situated at the exact midpoint of the Confessions. If this passage - an unequivocal and emotional protreptic to the Manicheans - is the climax of the work, presented at its centre, it is a highly significant affirmation of the interpretations of both the preceding and the subsequent sections of the Confessions offered here. This is the strongest factor that legitimises the quest of this section (chapter 4.3) to identify phrases or devices scattered throughout the work as persistent pointers to an overall protreptic purpose. The biography of Monnica in the second half of book 9 is also a fitting recapitulation in the sense that the story of her life is treated in the same way as the story of Augustine's life in the first part of the Confessions, namely as a paradigm of God's action in the life of man. For example, like Augustine's childhood sins, Monnica's love of wine as a child becomes a paradigm for sin in general, expressed by generalizations in 9.8.18: Qui modica spernit, pau/atim decidit ['He who despises small things gradually comes to a fall' (Ecclus. 19: 1)]; and Numquid va/ebat aliquid adversus /atentem morbum, nisi tua medicina. domine vigi/aret super nos? absente patre et matre et nutritoribus tu praesens, qui creasti, qui vocas, qui etiam per praepositos homines boni a/iquid agis ad anima rum sa/utem. Quid tune egisti, deus meus? unde curasti? Unde sanasti? Nonne protu/isti durum et acutum ex a/tera anima convicium tamquam medicinale ferrum ex occu/tis provisionibus tuis et uno ictu putredinem iIIam praecidisti? [She could have had no strength against the secret malady unless your healing care, Lord were watching over us. When father and mother and nurses are not there, you are present. You have created us, you call us, you use human authorities set over us to do O'Donnell's view (1992, 2:329) that the biographies of Alypius and Monica in books 6 and 9 respectively are "each a conversion story in its own right" and that they "bracket A.'s central conversion story" indirectly supports my theory about the function of Augustine's conversion story and other conversion stories in the Confessions and the importance given to these stories in the narrative. 29 155 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za something for the health of our souls. How did you cure her? How did you restore her health? You brought from another soul a harsh and sharp rebuke, like a surgeon's knife, from your secret stores, and with one blow you cut away the rottenness]. It is important to note the protreptic topoi (the medical imagery which implies that sin is sickness and something that God wants to heal) as well as the theme of God's unchanging presence, constantly desiring the correction of the sinner. Even though Monnica is unaware of God's presence or voice he speaks to her through the voice of the slave girl whose taunts cause a decisive change of heart. This is the reiteration of a constant theme in the preceding books of the Confessions, a theme that is eminently suited to serve the purposes of a protreptic communicative purpose: God is continually calling to each individual, even though the voice is often not recognized as his. God speaks to Augustine through Monnica in 2.3.7: Et cuius erant nisi tua verba ilia per matrem meam, fidelem tuam, quae cantasti in aures meas? [Then whose words were they but yours which you were chanting in my ears through my mother, your faithful servant?]; to mankind through his creation in 5.1.1 : Non cessat nec tacet laudes tuas universa creatura tua [Your entire creation never ceases to praise you and is never silent]; and in 8.1.2 Contestante universa creatura, inveneram te creatorem nostrum, et verbum tuum apud te deum [By the witness of all creation I had found you our Creator and your Word who is God beside you]; to Monnica through the slave girl (in the passage from 9.8.18, quoted above) and to Patricius through Monnica's life in 9.9.19: Sategit eum lucrari tibi loquens te illi moribus suis [She tried to win him for you, speaking to him of you by her virtues]. Paragraph 9.8.18 is concluded by what reads very much like a warning reminder of Augustine to himself, as well as an implicit acknowledgement of the protreptic intentions of this text: At tu, domine, rector caelitum et terrenorum, ad usus tuos contorquens profunda torrentis, fluxum saeculorum ordinans turbulentum, etiam de alter ius animae insania 156 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za sanasti alteram, ne quisquam, cum hoc advertit, potentiae suae tribuat, si verbo eius alius corrigatur, quem vult corrigi [But you, Lord, ruler of heaven and earth, turn to your own purposes the deep torrents. You order the turbulent flux of the centuries. Even from the fury of one soul you brought healing to another. Thereby you showed that no one should attribute it to his own power if by anything he says he sets on the right path someone whom he wishes to be corrected]. This is yet another indication that the responsibility for the moral instruction of fellow men and the possibility of his words working this effect, is never far from Augustine's thoughts. It is also important to note that one aspect that does receive a place in Monnica's very concise biography is her concern for the spiritual well being of those nearest to her: her husband and her recalcitrant son, i.e. the actions Monnica is praised for are actions that aim for the same goal as a protreptic aims for: conversion of others. This is foreshadowed, significantly, in the introduction to Monnica's biography in 9.8.17: Mu/ta praetereo, quia mu/tum festino ... sed non praeteribo quidquid mihi anima parturit de ilia famu/a tua, quae me parturivit et came, ut in hanc temp ora/em, et corde, ut in aetemam /ucem nascerer [I pass over many events because I write in great haste ... But I shall not pass over whatever my soul may bring to birth concerning your servant, who brought me to birth both in her body so that I was born into the light of time, and in her heart so that I was born into the light of eternity]; continued by the references to her "gaining" of Patricius for Christianity in 9.9.22: Denique etiam virum suum iam in extrema vita temporali eius /ucrata est fibi [At the end when her husband had reached the end of his life in time, she succeeded in gaining him for you]; and in 9.13.37 Cui servivit fructum tibi afferens cum to/erantia, ut eum quoque /ucraretur tlb! [She served him by offering you 'fruit with patience' (Luke 8: 15) so as to gain him for you also]; and of course all the references throughout Augustine's the Confessions to her efforts to assure conversion. This motif in her biography is fittingly concluded by her poignant and prophetic words in 9.10.26, after the shared vision at the window in Ostia and shortly before her death: FiJi, quantum ad me adtinet, nulla re iam de/ector in hac vita. quid hic faciam adhuc et cur hic sim, propter quod in hac vita a/iquantum 157 inmorari cupiebam, ut te Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za christianum catholicum viderem, priusquam morerer. cumulatius hoc mihi deus meus praestitit, ut te etiam contemta felicitate terrena servum eius videam. quid hic facio? ['My son, as for myself, I now find no pleasure in this life. What I have still to do here and why I am here, I do not know. My hope in this world is already fulfilled. The one reason why I wanted to stay longer in this life was my desire to see you a Catholic Christian before I die. My God has granted this in a way more than I had hoped. For I see you despising this world's success to become his servant. What have I to do here?]. 4.4.10 In Book 10 Book 10 of the Confessions creates in many ways the impression that a new stage in the narrative has been reached. On a first obvious level there is the fact that Augustine is no longer relating past events (though this only becomes clear in 10.3.4). Although this is not unprecedented in other prologues to individual books, the density of the narrative and the reflexive character of the opening paragraphs may also be a warning to the reader that a change of some sort is taking place. More significant is the shift in the kind of audience the text seems to envisage, a shift accompanying or perhaps rather embodying the shift from protreptic to paraenetic purpose. One of the strongest indications that we are still reading a protreptic text, but one where the emphasis has now shifted to paraenetic, lies in the constant awareness of the audience in this book, an aspect which is discussed more fully in chapter 5. The only passages I want to refer to here are two expressions of purpose in the introductory section. The first instance we find in 10.3.3-4 where the quotation I give below occurs in a section where Augustine repeatedly challenges his reader (through the rhetorical questions he puts to God before he answers them himself) to think about the purpose of the Confessions: Quid mihi ergo est cum hominibus, ut audiant confessiones meas? ... verum tamen tu, medice meus intime, quo fructu ista faciameliqua concerned for human readers to hear my confessions? mihi [Why should ... Nevertheless, I be make it clear to me, physician of my most intimate self, that good results from my present undertaking]. The questions are answered in the section I quote below (10.3.4) and the answer is as strong and clear an expression of protreptic-paraenetic purpose as one can get. Note the sleeping and waking imagery that we find in other places in the Confessions as well as in 158 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Ambrose's hymns (in excitare, used also in the Retractationes to describe the function of the Confessions and ne dormiat ... sed evigilet) as well as the consolation offered to the reader: Nam confessiones praeteritorum malorum meorum (quae remisisti et texisti, ut be ares me in te, mutans animam meam fide et sacramento tuo), cum leguntur et audiuntur. excitant cor, ne dormiat in desperatione et dicat: non possum, sed evigilet in amore misericordiae tuae et dulcidine gratiae tuae, qua potens est omnis infirmus, qui sibi per ipsam fit conscius infirmitatis suae [Stir up the heart when people read and hear the confessions of my past wickednesses, which you have forgiven and covered up to grant me happiness in yourself, transforming my soul by faith and your sacrament. Prevent the heart form sinking into the sleep of despair and saying 'It is beyond my power.' On the contrary, the heart is aroused in the love of your mercy and the sweetness of your grace, by which every weak person is given power, while dependence on grace produces awareness of one's own weakness]. Also the whole line of the argument 10.4.6 insists that the Confessions is meant to be anything but a narcissistic search for the self. It is clearly intended to present an example that the reader should follow, and the reader is told this in no uncertain terms (I omit everything but the bare frame of the argument): Hic est fructus confessionum mea rum ... ut hoc confitear non tantum coram te . sed etiam in auribus credentium filiorum hominum ... hi sunt servi tui, fratres mei . quibus iussisti ut serviam, si volo tecum de te vivere. et hoc mihi verbum tuum parum erat si loquendo praecipe ret, nisi et faciendo praeiret. et ego id ago factis et aletis [When I am confessing ... the benefit lies in this: I am making this confession not only before you ... but also in the ears of believing sons of men ... They are your servants, my brothers ... You have commanded me to serve them if I wish to live with you and in dependence on you. This your word would have meant little to me if it had been only a spoken precept and had not first been acted out. For my part, I carry out your command by actions and words]. I end the discussion of book 10 by a quick look at the overall plan of the book. O'Donnell (1992,3:150) calls the section following the introduction of book 10 (10.6.8-10.27.38) search for God in memory," and the next section (10.28.39-10.39.64) "the "temptatio est vita humana super terram." The "search for God" theme is picked up again in the last section of the book which O'Donnell subdivides into two sections: "the search for God: memory and 159 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za temptation" (10.40.65 -10.41.66) and "verax mediator' (10.42.67-10.43.70). In many ways the narrative in the sections embodying the search for God is a "practical illustration" of how to search for God. The reader is allowed to observe step by step how Augustine arrives at finding God through turning towards himself and searching within his own mind. Like in previous sections of the Confessions the aim is to enable the reader to find God in the same way, thus still a protreptic aim. But this is an exercise that can and should be repeated by the already converted, so that these passages have at the same time a paraenetic purpose. Similarly, as I have indicated, the section where Augustine shows the reader how he himself is still embroiled in a daily struggle with temptation and sin is particularly apt to fulfil a paraenetic function. Of course it also has the expressed aim to show the reader that Augustine is not perfect and that he is still in need of their prayers, but I think the context of the whole makes it unlikely that this is the only purpose of this section. 4.4.11 In Books 11 to 13 I conclude by a very concise discussion of protreptic and paraenetic purpose in the last three books of the Confessions that are analized more fully in chapter 5.3.3. I have argued that this is to a large degree carried by the strong influence of the Matt 7:7 quotation that frames and unites the last four books through the veritable hammering on this verse (it is not only quoted but expanded upon and interpreted) at the opening of book 10 and the end of book 13, but also at the beginning of book 12. Here I discuss only the small number of more or less explicit expressions of protrepticparaenetic purpose in books 11 and 12. A fuller analysis of the protreptic-paraenetic nature of book 13 follows as a conclusion to this chapter in 4.6 below. In the opening paragraph of book 11 Augustine once again prompts his reader to think about the purpose of the work through a rhetorical question put to God: Cur ergo fibi tot rerum narrationes digero? [Why then do I set before you an ordered account of so many things?] and the answer is once again an unequivocal expression of protreptic intent: Non utique ut per me noveris ea, sed affectum meum excito in te, et eorum qui haec /egunt, ut dicamus omnes, 'magnus dominus et /audabilis va/de.' iam dixi et dicam, 'amore amoris tui facio istuc' [It is certainly not through me that you know them. But I am stirring up love for you in myself and in those who read this, so that we may all say 'Great is the Lord and highly worthy to be praised' (Ps 47:1). I have already affirmed this and will say it again: I tell my story for love of your love]. 160 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Augustine's exasperation with a lack of strength and of time (expressed in 11.2.2) is also in part a formulation of what he intends to do in the Confessions (the underlined sections below): Quando autem sufficio lingua calami enuntiare omnia hortamenta tua et omnes terrores tuos, et consolationes et qubernationes. quibus me perduxisti praedicare verbum et sacramentum tuum dispensare populo tuo? et si sufficio haec enuntiare ex ordine, caro mihi valent stil/ae temporum [But when shall I be capable of proclaiming by 'the tongue of my pen' (Ps 44:2) all your exhortations and all your terrors and consolations and directives, by which you brought me to preach your word and dispense your sacrament to your people? And if I have the capacity to proclaim this in an ordered narrative, yet the drops of time are too precious to me]. When he explains that he wants to tell of all the hortamenta, terrores, consolationes and gubernationes dispensing through which his sacraments God led him to the point of preaching his word and I argue that this does not have to refer exclusively to "the demands of ordained ministry" (O'Donnell 1992, 3:256). In a passage so intent (like almost all opening sections of books) on the challenges of the task at hand, and on what his aim with the Confessions is, Augustine may be referring also to the preaching and dispensing done in and through the Confessions (See O'Donnell 1992, 3:245 on the embodiment of liturgical action in the text). Further, the echoes of 1.1.1 in the previous chapter (11.1.1) make it more probable that we are supposed to pick up the echo of the preadicator here. And one of the functions of the role of the praedicator is to win new converts for his religion, as the concise formulation of 1.1.1 (see analysis in 4.1) and the context of the opening of book 11 implies. The analysis of book 13 in 4.6 below shows that protreptic-paraenetic concerns, and what is more, a final return to the protreptic side of the scale, remain foremost in the narrator's mind, right up to the end of the Confessions. 161 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za 4.5 The Protreptic Power of Reading and Listening in the Confessions Many scholars have reflected on the importance of reading in the contessions." The analysis in chapter 3 discusses an Augustine reading scripture, Ps 4 in this case, and reporting on the effects of that reading. The latter episode is the last comprehensive reading experience reported on in the first section of the Confessions, the section where I contend that protreptic dominates paraenetic concerns. The reader will remember that I argued there that Augustine intended his meditation on the psalm as a protreptic to his Manichean audience, but also that he interpreted Ps 4 itself as though it were a protreptic, calling on its audience to convert. In this section I want to look at two other instances from books 1 to 9 where the effects of reading and listening are reported as a protreptic effect. They are, first, Augustine's version of his reading of the Hortensius, bringing about what is commonly called his first conversion, in book 3 of the Confessions and, secondly, the intricate and intertwined version of a number of instances of reading or listening and 31 conversion that form the backbone of the narrative in book 8. 4.5.1 The Hortensius I want to argue here that the prominent treatment given in Book 3 of the Confessions to Augustine's reading of the Hortensius, a text scholars agree was a protreptic text," may be intended as a pointer to the genre of Augustine's own text. The counter argument would, of course, be that if this was meant to be a generic pointer, the reference should have occurred earlier in the work. I have, however, argued above that Augustine may have had reasons for at least initially hiding the protreptic intentions of his text.33 30 See for example Stock (1996); Jacques (1988). 31 See O'Donnell 1992, 2:163 for a "short catalogue of readings explicitly reported." 32 See for example Ruch (1958). 33 The chronological constraints of the de me bibliographical framework of the narrative of course also necessitate a delayed introduction of this episode. As it is we find Augustine only gradually acknowledging the presence of his audience as book 2 progresses (see chapter 5). His purpose for writing the Confessions is put on the table only indirectly and gradually in book 2 with ut amem te and amore amoris tui facio istuc (2.1.1), but also the more explicit and inclusive ut ... cogitemus de quam profundo clamandum sit ad te in 2.3.5. All these factors make it feasible that the report on his reading of the Hortensius may still be part of this gradual setting up of generic pointers. 162 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za The fact remains that Augustine describes his encounter with the Hortensius in terms that ascribe powerful protreptic properties to this text. It causes nothing less than the lifechanging decision a protreptic is supposed to canvass for, and the start of Augustine's journey back to God. He in fact calls the work an exhortatio, nporpsrrnxos the Latin equivalent of (liber iIIe exhortationem continet in 3.4.7 and esepcially in ilia exhortatione in 3.4.8) and uses emotional terms and erotic fire imagery that I have shown is often part of protreptic vocabulary and that is repeated at other points in the Confessions, as in the following quotation from 3.4.7: II/e vero liber mutavit affectum meum, et ad te ipsum, domine, mutavit preces meas, et vota ac desideria immortalitatem mea fecit alia. Vi/uit me repente sapientiae concupiscebam aestu cordis omnis vana spes, et incredibili, et surgere coeperam ut ad te redirem [The book changed my feelings. It altered my prayers, Lord, to be towards you yourself. It gave me different values and priorities. Suddenly every vain hope became empty to me, and I longed for the immortality of wisdom with an incredible ardour in my heart. I began to rise up to return to you]. Also the retrospective description of the effects of the Hortensius in 3.4.8 teems with erotic vocabulary and fire imagery. It is introduced by quomodo ardebam, deus meus, quomodo ardebam revolare a terrenis ad te ... me accendebant iIIae litterae at the beginning of the paragraph, and followed by another emotional segment near the end of 3.4.8: Hoc tamen solo delectabar in ilia exhortatione, quod non iIIam aut iIIam sectam, sed ipsam quaecumque esset sapientiam tenerem atque amplexarer fortiter, ut di/igerem et guaererem et adsequerer et excitabar sermone illo et accendebar et ardebam, et hoc solum me in tanta f1agrantia reirenqebet, quod nome Christi non erat ibi [Nevertheless, the one thing that delighted me in Cicero's exhortation was the advice 'not to study one particular sect but to love and seek and pursue and hold fast and strongly embrace wisdom itself, wherever found.' One thing alone put a brake on my intense enthusiasm - that the name of Christ was not contained in the book]. Furthermore, the Hortensius is payed the compliment of having its secular contents summarized by scriptural quotation (Paul's words from Col. 2:8-9) as is the case with the reading of the very influential Libri Platonicorum in book 7, a device that gives it authority above other secular texts: Manifestatur ibi salutifera ilia admonitio spiritus tui per servum tuum bonum et pium: 'videte, ne quis vos decipiat per phi/osophiam et inanem seductionem, secundum 163 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za traditionem hominum, secundum e/ementa huius mundi, et non secundum Christum, quia in ipso inhabitat omnis p/enitudo divinitatis corpora/iter' [That text is a clear demonstration of the salutary admonition given by your Spirit through your good and devoted servant (Paul): 'See that none deceives you by philosophy and vain seduction following human tradition; following the elements of this world and not following Christ; in Him dwells all the fullness of divinity in bodily form' (Col. 2:89)]. I contend that Augustine's reading of the Hortensius may be intended as a paradigm for reading the Confessions as a protreptic text, a paradigm the reader will gradually be induced to make his own as the narrative progresses and the effect texts can have on lives that has been implied before is repeatedly brought to the fore to reach a climax in Book 8 (see discussion below). I also argue that the fact that this text is called an exhortatio and that it is described by using the stock terminology of protreptic texts must have had an important influence on the reader's perception of the genre of the Confessions. assume, consisted of course, that the privileged of characteristics classically educated discourse readers community to whom the Augustine protreptic In this I had in mind genre and its were well known and a genre such a reader may have expected a great exponent of the new philosophy (Christianity) to use. 4.5.2 The Conversion Stories in Book 8 Book 8, well known for Augustine's dramatic description of his conversion in a garden near Milan, is in fact a series of conversion stories. It shows how Augustine's final conversion is made possible by having listened to these stories. But the stories themselves contain instances of others being converted by hearing or reading scripture or conversion stories. It seems reasonable to assume that this may be yet another indication to the reader as to how Augustine intends his own conversion story to be read, a repetition of the paradigm presented in 3.4.7-8. In the analysis of book 8 presented here I focus on one aspect to the exclusion of many other important themes: I examine the conversions attempt to show that the presentation that the reader is told about in an is an instruction to the reader on how to read the Confessions. I argue that this "instruction" can function on a conscious level, but will more probably function on a subconscious level, so that its relevance is only brought up from the subconscious at the crucial moment when the reader is ready to make the final decision to read and obey scripture, that is, in the way the story of Antony's conversion functions for Augustine. 164 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Let us take another look at the embedded conversion stories in book 8 that have been analyzed by various others." The reader learns of six instances of conversion brought about by various factors and presented by Augustine (sometimes as told or read by others) with various degrees of detail and emotional envolvement: the Roman senator, Victorinus; the two agentes in rebus at Trier (Ponticianus' former colleagues); the monk, Antony; Augustine himself; and Alypius. In 8.2.4 we see Victorinus converted through reading, indeed, seriously studying scripture: Legebat, sicut ait Simplicianus, sanctam scripturam, omnesque christianas litteras investigabat studiossime et perscrutabatur, secretius et fami/iarius, Victorinus et dicebat Simpliciano, non pa/am sed 'noveris me iam esse christianum?' [Simplicianus said read holy scripture, and all the Christian books he investigated with special care. After examining them he said to Simplicia nus, not openly but in the privacy of friendship, 'Did you know that I am already a Christian?']; talking to Simplicianus and studying scripture once again: Et hoc saepe dicebat, respondebat iam se esse christianum, ... sed posteaquam et Simplicanus iIIud saepe /egendo et inhiando hausit firmitatem fimuitque negari a Christo coram ange/is sanctis [He used frequently to say 'I am a Christian already,' and Simplicanus would give the same answer ... But after his reading, he began to feel a longing and drank in courage. He was afraid he would be 'denied' by Christ 'before the holy angels' (Luke 12:9)]. Thus, Victorinus' conversion comes about primarily through his own reading (of scripture and many other Christian works: omnes), but also through talking to Simplicianus. Interesting to note here is the way in which Augustine focuses the narration of how the conversion happened by his opening statement in 8.2.4. He desires to know how God wrought the conversion of an unlikely convert, i.e. he is interested in how conversions may be brought about: o domine, fumigaverunt, domine, qui inclinasti cae/os et descendisti, tetigisti montes et quibus modis te insinuasti illi pectori? [Lord god, 'you have inclined the heavens and come down, you have touched the mountains and they have smoked' (Ps 143:5). By what ways did you make an opening into that heart?] 34 See for example Schmidt-Dengler (1969); Boyd (1974); Archambault Jacques (1988); Tavard (1988); O'Meara (1992); and Stock (1996). 165 (1986); Bennett (1988); Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Of Ponticianus' colleagues, the agentes in rebus, we learn that one needs nothing more than reading a conversion story (that of the monk Antony in this instance) to come to an immediate conversion. Here we have a main character who is converted and his partner who plays a very minor role. The reader is left with the impression that the latter, almost blindly, follows his friend because he is struck with the immediate, emotional and lifechanging response of the first. All we learn about Antony's conversion at this stage is that it is brought about by hearing scripture. About Augustine's conversion we have an abundance of information, of course, but the catalysts that function in book 8 are the conversion stories he hears on the one hand, and his reading of the specific passage from Romans, on the other. Alypius' conversion presented, is like that of the second agent at Trier, with very little detail, except for the information that the final catalyst is the reading of scripture, specifically the passage in Romans immediately following on the one read by Augustine. We may assume, that, like in the case of his Trier counterpart, the emotional final yielding of his friend also plays a role. I want to argue that these stories have in common a message about reading and hearing that may once again be interpreted as an indication to the reader about how to read the Confessions. In all these cases the final catalyst for conversion is reading, and the material that is read is either scripture or a conversion story (the only exception is the second courtier at Trier who does not read but who does witness a conversion)." There are three other important features of these conversions that I think are emphasized in the text and that support my argument. The first is the assumption of Augustine and the other narrators he introduces that examples invite imitation; the second is willingness of the reader or potential convert to apply what he reads to his own life and circumstances; and the third is the description of the effect of the conversion in terms of the fire-imagery and erotic vocabulary typical of protreptic texts. The theme of drawing parallels between the lives read in literature and the reader's own life and of imitating those lives is one that has been carefully prepared throughout the narrative in books 1 to 7 (see my discussion 4.4 above). If we follow these three features through the conversion stories in book 8 we first find Simplicia nus telling Victorinus's story for the purpose of exhorting Augustine to become a Christian (as 8.2.3 states explicitly), i.e. as a protreptic: Of course, like with everything he narrates in the Confessions, Augustine makes sure that God is recognized as the ultimate author or catalyst behind the events portrayed here. See for example: immisisti in mentem meam ... pergere ad Simplicianum (81.1); or the question about Victorinus: 35 quibus modis te insinuasti il/i pectori? (8.2.4). 166 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Ut me exhorlaretur ad humilitatem Christi Victorinum ipsum recordatus est [Then, to exhort me to the humility of Christ he recalled his memory of Victorinus himself). Then, it is Victorinus' willingness to apply what he has read and heard to his own life that convinces him that his way of being a Christian is not satisfactory and that leads to his decision to be publicly baptized (8.2.4): Sed posteaquam /egendo et inhiando hausit firmitatem timuitque negari a Christo ... ait Simp/iciano ... 'eamus in ecc/esiam: christianus vo he began to feel a longing and drank in courage. fieri' [But after his reading, He was afraid he would be 'denied' by Christ 'before the holy angels' (Luke 12:9) ... he said to Simplicianus ... 'Let us go to the church; I want to become a Christian']. This story is meant to elicit imitation from Augustine successful and in 8.5.10 we learn that it is in the sense that it at least awakens the desire for imitation (note the fire- imagery in exersïï: Sed ubi mihi homo tuus Simplicianus de Victorino ista narravit, exarsi ad imitandum: ad hoc enim et iIIe narraverat [As soon as your servant Simplicianus told me this story about Victorinus, I was ardent to follow his example. He had indeed told it to me with this object in view]. Also Augustine's reflection on Victorinus' conversion in 8.4.9 emphasizes its value as an example for others to follow: Deinde quod mu/tis noti, mu/tis sunt auctoritati ad sa/utem et mu/tis praeeunt secuturis, ideoque mu/tum de illis et qui eos praecesserunt /aetantur, quia non de solis /aetantur [Then those who are known to many are to many a personal influence towards salvation. Where they lead, many will follow. That is why on their account even those who have preceded them feel great joy; for their rejoicing is not only for them]. The conversion of the Trier courtiers (told in its entirety in 8.6.15) is perhaps the quickest, least tortuous and least intellectual conversion the reader learns about in book 8, but Augustine's version conveys that it has a great emotional impact on him. The first courtier reads Antony's conversion story: Et invenisse ibi codicem in quo scripta erat vita Antonii. quam /egere coepit unus eorum et mirari et accendi, et inter /egendum meditari [They found there a book in which was written the Life of Antony. One of them began to read it. He was amazed and set on fire, and during his reading began to think]. 167 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za He immediately applies what he reads to his own life, decides to imitate Antony, and converts to Christianity on the spot: Iratus sibi, coniecit oculos in amicum et ait illi, 'die, quaeso te, omnibus istis laboribus nostris quo ambimus pervenire? quid quaerimus? ... amicus autem dei, si voluero, ecce nunc fio' ... et legebat et mutabatur intus [Angry with himself, he turned his eyes on his friend and said to him: 'Tell me, I beg of you, what do we hope to achieve with all our labours? What is our aim in life? ... Whereas, if I wish to become God's friend, in an instant I may become that now' ... He read on and experienced a conversion inwardly]. Augustine's narrative does not give us any reason to suspect that other circumstances in his life contributed to the life-changing decision. The courtier's reactions to the conversion story he reads are described in typical protreptic vocabulary, emotional and erotic: Subito repletus amore sancto et sobrio pudore ... turbidus parturitione novae vitae ... dum legit et volvit f1uctus cordis sui, infremuit aliquando et discrevit decrevitque melior a [Suddenly he was filled with holy love and sobering shame ... and in pain at the coming to birth of new life ... Indeed, as he read and turned over and over in the turbulent hesitations of his heart, there were some moments when he was angry with himself. But then he perceived the choice to be made and took a decision to follow the better course]. Antony's conversion story (presented indirectly and in fragments) is the one to which the least amount of space is allotted. We learn less about the conversion itself than about its protreptic effect on others, but the salient elements are there. In 8.12.29 we learn that Antony had heard a reading from scripture and applied what he read to his own life: Audieram enim de Antonio quod ex evangelica tamquam sibi diceretur quod legebatur: pauperibus lectione cui forte supervenerat, vade, vende omnia quae habes, et da et habebis thesaurum in caelis; et veni, sequere me,' et tali oraculo confestim ad te esse conversum [For I had heard how Antony happened to be present at the gospel reading, and took it as an admonition addressed to himself when the words were read: 'Go, sell all you have, give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me' (Matt 19:21). By such an inspired utterance he was immediately 'converted to you' (Ps 50:15)]. The effect of this reading is not described here, although we learn that it was powerful enough to cause a sudden conversion. What is described is the effect of the knowledge of Antony's experience on Augustine. The moment he hears the "tolle, lege" chant is the 168 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za moment Antony's story rises to the surface and plays its decisive role: Augustine is struck (concitus) with certainty about what he should do. He imitates Antony in reading a random passage from scripture and interpreting the words as though addressed directly to himself: Arripui, aperui et legi in silentio capitulum quo primum coniecti sunt oculi mei ... nee ultra volui legere nee opus erat. statim quippe cum fine huiusce sententiae quasi luce securitatis infusa cordi meo omnes dubitationis tenebrae diffugerunt [I seized it, opened it and in silence read the first passage on which my eyes lit ... I neither wished nor needed to read further. At once, with the last words of this sentence, it was as if a light of relief from all anxiety flooded into my heart. All the shadows of doubt were dispelled]. I think that we also have reason to assume that Ponticianus told Antony's story (in 8.6.14) with its protreptic power at the back of his mind. Augustine is careful to underline the fortuitous character of the whole meeting with Ponticianus and the apparently incidental character of the conversation. But, Ponticianus was probably (like Simplicia nus) conscious of how a conversion story might influence Augustine. probably aware of Augustine's Manichean connections, He was a practicing Christian, and he may have gathered that Augustine was searching in his reading of Paul: Cui cum indicassem illis me scripturis curam maximam impendere, ortus est sermo ipso narrante de Antonio Aegyptio monacho [When I had indicated to him that those scriptures were the subject of deep study for me, a conversation began in which he told the story of Antony the Egyptian monk]. The last conversion story in book 8 is Alypius' conversion. Partly like Augustine, and partly like the second. Trier courtier, he is influenced, on the one hand, by the example of a conversion that happens before his eyes, and on the other, presumably, by the conversion stories (of Antony and the Trier courtiers) told by Ponticianus, as well as by reading a random section from scripture. To come back to the most important conversion reported in book 8, that of Augustine himself: this conversion autobiographical constitutes of course the long awaited climax of the section of the Confessions. Though the final conversion constitutes the main line of tension that runs from the opening of book 8 to its end, everything narrated in books 1 to 7 forms part of Augustine's preparation for this final surrender, with his reading of the Hortensius, his experience of Ambrose's exegesis of scripture and the reading of the Libri Platonicorum playing the most prominent role. Still, the stages of his conversion described in book 8 display the same elements as the other conversions told here. First, in 169 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za 8.4.9, in 8.5.10, and in 8.8.10 Augustine's assumption that the other conversions may be imitated is clear: Mu/tis sunt auctoritati ad sa/utem et muftis praeeunt secuturis [Those ... are to many a personal influence towards salvation. Where they lead, many will follow]; Exarsi ad imitandum [Victorinum] [I was ardent to follow his example]; An quia praecesserant, pudet sequi et non pudet nec sa/tem sequi? [Is it because they are ahead of us that we are ashamed to follow? Do we feel no shame at making not even an attempt to follow?] Secondly, Augustine's narration of Ponticianus' telling of the conversion story of the Trier courtiers (the central section of the book) is interrupted by Augustine's narration in 8.7.16 of how, while Ponticianus spoke, he drew parallels with his own life and inferred meaning for himself (although the action is ascribed to God, it is clear that the catalyst is Ponticianus' words): Narrabat haec Ponticianus. Tu autem, domine, inter verba eius retorquebas me ad me ipsum, auferens me a dorso meo, ubi me posueram dum nol/em me attendere, et constituebas me ante faciem meam, ut viderem quam turpis essem, quam distorlus et sordidus, macu/osus et u/cerosus. et videbam et horrebam, et quo a me fugerem non erato sed si conabar averlere a me aspectum, narrabat iIIe quod narrabat, et tu me rursus opponebas mihi et impinge bas me in ocu/os meos, ut invenirem iniquitatem meam et odissem [This was the story Ponticianus told. But while he was speaking, Lord, you turned my attention back to myself. You took me up from behind my own back where I had placed myself because I did not wish to observe myself (Ps 20: 13), and you set me before my face (Ps 49:21) so that I should see how vile I was, how twisted and filthy, covered in sores and ulcers. And I looked and was appalled, but there was no way of escaping from myself. If I tried to avert my gaze from myself, his story continued relentlessly, and you once again placed me in front of myself; you thrust me before my own eyes so that I should discover my iniquity and hate it]. Augustine's final decision is thus precipitated both by hearing conversion stories and by reading scripture. One interesting aspect of Augustine's conversion is that the description in emotional terms and with fire-imagery precedes the narration of the final conversion, while what follows is described as utmost serenity. In Augustine's case the flagrant emotions are excited by the conversion stories he hears. Following Victorinus' conversion, the opening 170 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za sentence of 8.4.9 is such an emotional appeal to God to fire up "our" hearts. It is a general outcry that aims to include the reader: Age, domine, fac, excita et revoca nos, accende et rape, flagra dulcesce: amemus, curramus. Nonne multi ex profundiore tartara caecitatis quam Victorinus redeunt ad te et accedunt et inluminantur recipientes lumen? [Come Lord, stir us up and call us back, kindle and seize us, be our fire and our sweetness. Let us love, let us run. Surely many return to you from a deeper hell of blindness than Victorinus. They approach and are illuminated as they receive light]. We also have the exarsi ad imitandum at the opening of 8.5.10 (already referred to above). But the most intense emotions are described during and after Simplicianus' narration. In 8.7.17 we have: Tunc vera quanta ardentius amabam ilias de quibus audiebam salubres affectus, quod se tatas tibi sanandos dederunt, tanto exsecrabilius me compere tum eis oderam [But at that moment the more ardent my affection for those young men of whom I was hearing, who for the soul's health had given themselves wholly to you for healing, the more was the detestation and hatred I felt for myself in comparison with them]; and in 8.8.19: Tum in ilia grandi rixa interioris domus meae, quam fortiter excitaveram cum anima mea in cubiculo nostro, corde mea, tam vultu quam mente turbatus ... iIIuc me abstulerat tumultus pectoris, ubi nemo impediret ardentem litem quam mecum aggressus eram ... ego fremebam spiritu, indignans indignatione [Then in the middle of that grand struggle turbulentissima in my inner house, which I had vehemently stirred up with my soul in the intimate chamber of my heart, distressed not only in mind but in appearance ... The tumult of my heart took me out into the garden where no one could interfere with the burning struggle with myself in which I was engaged ... I was deeply disturbed in spirit, angry with indignation and dlstressj." Two other sections contain descriptions of violent emotions and erotic overtones: aegrotabam et excruciabar ... vo/vens et versans me in vinculo meo (8.11.25) and the section immediately preceding the final conversion, 8.12.28: oborta est procelIa ingens (erens ingentem imbrem /acrimarum ... nescio quid ... dexeram in quo apparebat sonus vocis meae iam fletu gravidus ... et dimisi habenas /acrimis, et proruperunt flumina ocu/orum meorum. 36 171 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Also the opening chapters of book 9 (i.e. immediately following the description of the conversion at the end of book 8) contain some typical protreptic vocabulary. The beginning of 9.2.3 is full of erotic fire-imagery and refers back explicitly to the exempla of book 8: Sagitta veras tu cor nostrum caritate tua ... et exempla servorum tuorum, quos de nigris lucidos et de mortuis vivos feceras, congesta in sinum cogitation is nostrae urebant et absumebant gravem torporem, ne in ima vergeremus, et accendebant nos valide, ut omnis ex lingua subdola contradictionis flatus imflammare nos acrius posset, non extinguere [You pierced my heart with the arrow of your love ... The examples given by your servants whom you had transformed from black to shining white and from death to life, crowded in upon my thoughts. They burnt away and destroyed my heavy sluggishness, preventing me from being dragged down to low things. They set me on fire with such force that every breath of opposition from any 'deceitful tongue' (Ps 119:2f.) had the power not to dampen my zeal but to inflame it the more]. It seems clear to me that by the end of book 8 Augustine has given his reader explicit instructions as to how his conversion story should be read. It should be read as an example to be imitated, as a protreptic text. The ground has now been prepared for the (almost) explicit protreptic to a specific segment of his audience in book 9 and for the reading of scripture offered in books 11 to 13. 4.6 The Protreptic-Paraenetic Purpose of the Allegory in Book 13 Looking at the allegorical perspectives exegesis of the creation narrative in Gen 1:1-2:2 from the I hope to have opened up so far in this dissertation, offers the possibility of calling the first section (paragraphs 13 to 31) a protreptic-paraenetic discourse designed to exhort and encourage the members of the ecclesia catholica to persevere in the daily struggle of Christian life. In the second section (paragraphs 32 to 49) the emphasis moves back to the protreptic side of the scale, coupled with an increased indication of Augustine's awareness of his Manichean audience." My choice to analyse the first of these sections in Because in this section I need to refer repeatedly to the different sections of a relatively long continuous passage I find it less complicated and easier for the reader to follow when I refer to the different sections only by their paragraph numbers. 37 172 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za chapter 4 and the second in chapter 5 is based on the nature of the narrative in the respective sections, but it is also to a certain degree arbitrary: this modus operandi allows me to say something about almost all of the allegory without saying everything about all sections. I hope to focus the attention of my reader on only one thread running through these paragraphs and do not in any way do justice to the scope and variety of the account of congregational life offered here or to the construction or tone of the whole. The four aspects of the allegorical exposition I concentrate on in the analyses below are the following: • The element of exhortation or consolation offered to the members of the ecclesia (as the main focus of my discussions) that in many places makes the text approach the nature of a sermon" • The defense of the whole of scripture (both Old and New Testament) as the authoritative word of God that targets especially a Manichean audience • The authoritative presence of Paul and his writings • The degree to which what is offered here is a reading not only of the verses from Genesis but of the whole of scripture Before I analyse the allegory a cursory look at the opening section of book 13 is necessary. This section is apparently designed to introduce the book as the conclusion to the work as a whole, and thus points to a well thought out construction with important pointers concerning the coherence of the whole. The first paragraph is heavy with echoes of most of the important themes in the Confessions. There are verbal echoes of the prologue: the same insistence on the verb invocare, especially priusquam invocarem (recalling utrum sit prius invocare te in 1.1.1), and also the repetition of fecisti (repeatedly used in 1.1.1 and 1.2.2). More indirectly, but still unmistakeably, the prologue is also evoked by the references to omnia mala merita mea [all the evils which merited punishment], recalling circumferens testimonium peccati sui in 1.1.1; to the fact that man's very being depends on God: nec eram cui praestares ut essem ... a quo mihi est ut sim cui bene sit [I had no being to which you could grant existence ... To you lowe my being and the goodness of my being], It is clear form Ries' study (1963, 202 and 212) that whenever Augustine writes on scripture pastoral aims tend to dominate, exactly what we see happening in the first section of the reading of Genesis in book 13. 38 173 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za recalling sine te non esset quidquid est ... et ego sum ... qui non essem, nisi esses in me. an potius non essem nisi essem in te in 1.2.2; and to man's capacity to receive God in his soul animam meam, quam praeparas ad capiendum te [my soul which you are preparing to receive you], recalling quis locus est in me quo veniat in me deus meus ... est quicquam in me quod capiat te? in 1.2.2. Further, the first few lines of paragraph 1 sound, in many respects, like a summary of the conversion story in the first nine books of the Confessions where Augustine is portrayed as the prodigal son, moving away from God (forgetful of Him), then on his way back to Him, while God remains ever present, constantly calling to Augustine in different ways that he only retrospectively recognizes as coming form God: Invoco te, deus meus, misericordia mea, qui fecisti me et oblitum tui non oblitus es ... priusquam invocarem praevenisiti et institisti crebrecscens multimodis vocibus ut audirem de longinquo et converterer et vocantem me invocarem te [I call upon you, my God, my mercy (Ps 58:18). You made me and, when I forgot you, you did not forget me ... Before I called to you, you were there before me. With mounting frequency by voices of many kinds you put pressure on me, so that from far off I heard and was converted and called upon you as you were calling to me]. This distillation of the first nine books to an end product that clearly portrays emphasis on the progress towards conversion provides important support for my argument that this is what the first books of the Confessions are: the exemplum of a conversion implemented as a protreptic tool. As is often the case in Augustine's prologues to individual books, this one is not only retrospective, but also prospective. It invokes God's help for the task that still lies ahead. It states the current state of Augustine's earthly peregrinatio (nunc invocantem te ne deseras), and it foreshadows one of the most important themes of book 13, the goodness of God's creation, of which Augustine and all men (created not out of necessity but out of the goodness of God) are, of course, part: Et tamen ecce sum ex bonitate tua serviam quasi ne fatigeris in agendo neque enim eguisti me ... non ut tibi sic sed ut serviam tibi et colam te, ut de te mihi bene sit, a quo mihi est ut sim cui bene sit [Nevertheless here I am as a result of your goodness ... You had no need of me it is not as if I could so serve you as to prevent you becoming weary in your work from you good may come to me. To you lowe being]. 174 But I serve and worship you so that my being and the goodness of my Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za The second section of Book 13 (paragraphs 2 to 12), which O'Donnell gives the heading, "Why did God create," is in many respects simply a continuation of the discussions in books 11 and 12. It still occupies itself with the first three verses of Genesis and it still meditates on some of the difficult theoretical concepts that the reading of Genesis brings into play. The issues of contingent creation (ex plenitudine, 12.4.5) and of the beauty and goodness of all creation, of the role of the Spirit in the ascent of the soul, the introduction of Paul as an important figure and the continued exploration of the mystery of the Trinity are in my opinion all part of the preparation of the Manichean reader to accept the final message of the Confessions. This is embodied in the last section (paragraphs 35 to 49), which I treat mainly in chapter 5. Importantly, this last section of Book 13 also puts on the table the parallels between the conversio of man and the formatio of creation out of materia informis, mainly through its exploration of the phrase 'fiat lux' in Gen 1:3, interpreted as a parallel for the much quoted Eph 5:8 eratis enim aliquando tenebrae, nunc autem lux in domino, that becomes "a Leitmotiv of Book 13" (O'Donnell 1992, 3: 348). Thus it prepares the way for the allegorical exposition of the creation story as a parallel for man's life on earth as well as for the method of interpretatively juxtaposing texts from the Old Testament with texts from the New Testament. To assist the reader in following the arguments presented in this regard a schematic exposition is given below. Note that the thematic structure I identify in the allegory does not follow exactly the surface structure of the text that follows the verse by verse or day by day plan of Gen 1. Furthermore, only the subsections belonging to section A are discussed here, because of the opportunity they present to clarify protreptic-paraenetic matters that are the subject of chapter 4. Section B is treated in chapter 5 because the strong preoccupation with a potential Manichean audience there makes its discussion in chapter 5 (on matters concerning the audience of the Confessions) more suitable. For now I do, however, give a table of the whole allegorical section of book 13: 175 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Section Subsection Paragraphs Theme A. Paraenetic (i) 13-15 Hope in spite of present imperfect conditions (ii) 16-19 Value and authority of scripture (iii) 20-25 Exhortation to bear fruit (iv) 26-31 Value to members of the Church of the preaching and example of ministers B. Against 32-34 (v) Man in the image of God and Manichean Manichean anthropology dogma (vi) 35-37 A verse offensive to the Manicheans (vii) 38-42 Manichean eating rituals (viii) 43-49 Manichean views of creation The point of the discussion of subsections (i) to (iv) offered here is to illustrate that the element of consolation offered to believers figures prominently in the first part of the allegory (section A) and as such constitutes a paraenetic discourse. I do not claim that this is the only issue at stake here, but it is one that is certainly also present here. Let us take a closer look at the individual sections of the allegory. 4.6.1 Section (i): Hope in Spite of Present Imperfect Conditions (paragraphs 13 to 15) At paragraph 13 Augustine makes a transition from the theoretical discussion of the trinitas and the difficulties concerning this concept that he has still not solved to his own satisfaction (described in paragraph 12): Trinitatem omnipotentem quis intel/eget? ... rara anima quae, cum de ilia [sc. trinitate] loquitur, scit quod loquitur ... quis facile cogitaverit? quis ullo modo dixerit? 176 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Quis quolibet modo temere pronuntiaverit [Who can understand the omnipotent Trinity? ... It is a rare soul who knows what he is talking about when he is speaking of it ... Who can find a way to give expression to that? Who would venture in any way whatever to make a rash pronouncement on the subject?] to its practical manifestation in the ecclesia. Talking about baptism in the name of the Triune God provides the beginning for the story of the members of the church, both the followers (baptizati sumus) and the leaders (baptizamus), the carnales and the spiritales, that starts here. The other beginnings that feature in this paragraph are the first words presented as spoken by God in scripture fiat lux, juxtaposed by the first words reported as spoken by Jesus paenitentiam agite (O'Donnell 1992, 3: 363). The latter of course also represents the first step towards conversion. Let us move to the paraenetic concerns that I find dominating the first part of the allegorical reading of Genesis. I argue that the text contains exhortations and encouragements aimed at readers that were either already converted when they started reading the Confessions, or, hypothetically, those who succumbed to the protreptic of the first ten books and must. now start life as members of the church, making this section strictly speaking more paraenetic than protreptic. The allegory is introduced in paragraph 13: Quia et apud nos in Christo suo fecit deus caelum et terram, spiritales et carnales ecclesiae suae [Among us also in his Christ God has made a heaven and an earth, meaning the spiritual and carnal members of his Church]. This sentence at the same time includes the reader (as so often in the Confessions) in a meditation expressed in the first person plural that on many levels emphasizes the common bond between all those trying to live the Christian life and offers consolation during the daily struggle this life implies: Sed quia spiritus tuus superferebatur super aquam, non reliquit miseriam nostram misericordia tua .. . et quoniam conturbata erat ad nos ipsos anima nostra, conmemorati sumus tui, domine ... et displicuerunt nobis tenebrae nostrae, et conversi sumus ad te, et facta est lux. et ecce fuimus aliquando tenebrae, nunc autem lux in domino [But because your 'Spirit was borne above the waters,' your mercy did not abandon our misery ourselves, we 'remembered you, Lord' Because our soul was 'disturbed' within Our darknesses displeased us. We were converted to you (Ps 50:15), light was created, and suddenly we 'who were once darkness are now light in the Lord' (Eph. 5:8)]. 177 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za In this context it is not accidental that Augustine opens paragraph 13 by addressing his own fides (Procede in confessione, fides mea). Fides and spes are presented in section A as the two realities man has to cling to during his struggle to live as a Christian in this world. The two concepts are introduced in combination at the beginning of paragraph 14 through quotations from Paul's letters to the Corinthians (2 Cor 5:7, per fidem ambulamus et non per speciem) and to the Romans (Rom 8:24 spe enim salvi facti sumus spes autem, quae videtur non est spes) and remain part of a constant reminder to the reader of what she may hope for, as does the figure of Paul, who becomes not only a quoted author but also an important character, yet another life that may be imitated, in the narrative. Paragraphs 13 to 15 are an exposition of Gen 1:2-5. But the presence of the Genesis text is of minor importance in comparison to the presence of the texts from different sections of the rest of scripture (most prominent are the book of Psalms, the Gospels and Paul's Letters). On a different level these texts are used to allow the reader to see Paul as an already converted Christian, advanced enough in his spiritual life to belong among the spiritales, but still having to live per fidem and not yet per speciem. We learn that even Paul did not understand all, that he still suffered and thirsted for God, and that he passionately longed for Christ: Etiam ipse nondum se arbitratur conprehendisse anima eius ad deum vivum, quemadmodum ... ingemescit gravatus, et sitit cervi ad fontes aquarum, et dicit, 'quando veniam?' [Even he ... does not think that he himself has comprehended ... Weighed down he groans (2 Cor. 5:4); 'his soul thirsts for the living God, like a hart for the springs of waters, and says 'when shall I come?' (Ps 41 :2-3) ... Paul's elevated position in the Church is not forgotten. It is emphasized, for example, that he no longer speaks in his own voice, but that God speaks through him: Sed iam non in voce sua; in tua enim, qui misisti spiritum tuum de excelsis ... quia in voce cataractarum tuarum, non in voce sua, invocat alteram abyssum, cui zelans timet ne sicut serpens Evam de cepit astutia sua, sic et eorum sensus corrumpantur [But now he is speaking not with his own voice but with yours. 'You sent your Spirit from on high' (Wisd. 9: 17) ... 'By the sound of your cataracts' (Ps 41 :8), not by his own voice, he calls to the other deep. In his jealousy for it he fears lest 'as the serpent deceived Eve by his subtlety, so also their mind may be corrupted to lose chastity' (2 Cor. 11:2)]. At the same time, however, the fact that he remains in a situation of expectation, of less than perfection, that he too is still an abyss, though calling to others that are the abyss, and 178 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za even worse off than he is may serve to encourage others struggling with the daily demands of a Christian way of life: Adhuc abyssus abyssum invocat vocat inferiorem abyssum abyssum ['Deep' still 'calls to deep' To the lower abyss he calls invocat alteram he calls to the other deep]. In paragraph 15, introduced by et ego dico, the focus moves to the exemplum of Augustine himself. Once again we have, together with evocations of a higher union with God, also an emphasis on the flipside of the same coin, the slipping back and the daily struggle the Christian remains embroiled in, with the adhuc picking up the adhuc in the previous paragraph where it was used to introduce this same aspect of the Christian peregrinatio: Respiro in te paululum, cum effundo super me animam meam in voce exultationis et confessionis, soni, festivitatem celebrantis. et adhuc tristls, quia relabitur et fit abyssus, vel potius sentit adhuc se esse abyssum (the subject of the third person verbs is anima mea) [I sigh for you a little (Job 32:20) when I 'pour out my soul upon myself in the voice of exultation and confession, the sound of one celebrating a festiva' (Ps 41 :6). Yet still my soul is sad because it slips back and becomes a 'deep,' or rather feels itself still to be a deep]. Following this we have Augustine's fides addressing his soul in a passage in many respects similar to the one in 4.11.16 to 18 (discussed in 4.2 above), and constituting a strong paraenetic message well suitable to encourage the fideles in their daily struggle. Especially noteworthy are the exhortations embodied in the imperatives: Spera in domino ... spera et persevera ... spera in domino [Hope in the Lord ... Hope and persevere ... Hope in the Lord]; the references to the imperfections of the present situation: Et adhuc tristis est ... 'quare tristis es, anima, et quare conturbas me? spera in domino' ... fuimus aliquando tenebrae, quarum residua trahimus in corpore propter peccatum mortua [Yet still my soul is sad you disturb me? Hope in the Lord' (Ps 41 :6) 'Why are you sad, soul, and why do We were 'once darkness' (Eph. 5:8), the remnants of which we bear in the body which 'is dead because of sin' (Rom. 8:10)]; balanced with reminders of what may be hoped for: 179 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Donee transeat removeantur nox ... donee transeat ira domini ... donee aspiret dies et umbrae [Until the night passes ... until the Lord's wrath passes ... 'until the day breathes and the shadows are removed' (Cant. 2:17)]. This hope for a better future is also expressed in the future verbs in the quotation from Ps 41 that follow the address to the soul: Mane astabo et contemp/abor; semper confitebor illi. Mane astabo et videbo sa/utare vu/tus mei ('In the morning I will stand up and will contemplate you. I well ever confess to Him. In the morning I will stand and I will see the- salvation of my face' (Ps 41 :6-12)]; and the renewed reminders that man has already become light, has already been saved: Unde in hac peregrinatione pignus accepimus, ut iam simus lux, dum adhuc spe sa/vi facti sumus et fillii /ucis et filii diei, non filii noctis neque tenebrarum quod tamen fuimus) [From him during this wandering pilgrimage, we have received an assurance that we are already light (Eph. 5:8). While still in this life, we are 'saved by hope' (Rom. 8:24) and are 'sons of the light' and sons of God, 'not sons of the night and of darkness' (1 Thess. 5:5) which we once were].39 4.6.2 Section (ii): The Value and Authority of Scripture (paragraphs 16 to 19) Paragraphs 16 to 19 constitute the allegorical analysis of the second day of creation, described in Gen 1:6-7 (et fecit deus firmamentum, et divisit deus inter aquam ... et ... aquam) and as such brings into focus the role of scripture in the Church (in the allegory firmamentum equals scriptura). The main subject here is the authority of scripture and in this I already perceive a receding of the paraenetic intention and the surfacing of the protreptic, for as soon as Augustine talks about scripture the Manichean resistance to large parts of it and the need to convince them of the erroneous nature of their views in this regard seems to surface in his mind. But elements of the consolation offered to believers are still discernible. The firmament is portrayed, implicitly first, in paragraphs 16 and 17, as a protection offered to sinful men, like the clothes given to Adam and Eve after the fall: We have to assume that while man has been made light already (as Eph 5:8 indicates) at the moment of conversion, through the reflection of the Light, this state is not permanent or perfect, hence the need for the believers to be reminded of this fact, and the assumption that they are still waiting for the night to pass, etc. 39 180 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Aut quis nisi tu, deus noster, tecist! nobis firmamentum auctoritatis super nos in scriptura tua divina? cae/um enim p/icabitur ut liber et nunc sicut pellis extenditur super nos ... et tu seis, domine, tu seis, quemadmodum pellibus indueris homines, cum peccato morta/es fierent. unde sicut pel/em extendisti firmamentum concordes utique sermons tuos, quos per mortalium ministerium libri tui superposuisti nobis ... quia subterpositis solidasti ea [sc. casta e/oquia] [Who but you made for us a solid firmament of authority over us in your divine scripture? For 'the heaven will fold up like a book' (Isa. 34:4), and now 'like a skin it is stretched out' above us (Ps 103:2) ... You know, Lord, you know how you clothed human beings with skins when by sin they became mortal (Gen 3:21). So you have stretched out the firmament of your book 'like a skin,' that is your words which are not mutually discordant, and which you have placed over us by the ministry of mortal men ... since for those who submit you have firmly established the scriptures' authority]. This interpretation is reinforced by the description in paragraph 18 where man's weakness (presumably the reason why he needs scripture to mediate between himself and the will of God) is contrasted with God's mercy and Truth: Hoc firma mentum ... quod tirmest; super infirmitatem suspicerent et cognoscerent misericordiam tntenerum popu/orum, tuam temporaliter enuntiantem tecist! tempora. in cae/o enim, domine, misericordia ubi te, qui tua et veritas tua usque ad nubes [This firmament which you established to be above the weak who are on a lower level so that they could look up and know your mercy, announcing in time you who made time. For 'in heaven, Lord, is your mercy and your truth reaches the clouds' (Ps 35:6)]. The passage also contrasts those beings who inhabit the cae/um caeli and directly know the will of God with man who cannot as yet achieve this, as paragraph 19 explains (in NeoPlatonic terms): Nec videtur iustum esse coram te, ut, quemadmodum se scit lumen incommutabi/e, ita sciatur ab in/uminato conmutabili [In your sight it does not seem right that the kind of self-knowledge possessed by unchangeable light should also be possessed by changeable existence which receives light]. But both paragraphs 18 and 19 once again end with a consolatory glimpse of what is to come: Sed cum apparuerit [sc. flilius tuus], similes ei erimus, quoniam videbimus eum, sicuti est: sicuti est, domine, videre nostrum, quod nondum est nobis ... sic enim 181 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za apud te fons vitae quomodo in lumine tuo videbimus lumen ['But when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is' (1 John 3:2). 'As he is' Lord will be ours to see; but it is not yet given to us ... For 'with you is the fountain of life,' and so also it is 'in your light' that 'we shall see light' (Ps 35:10)]. 4.6.3 Section (iii): Exhortation to Bear Fruit (paragraphs 20 to 25) Although, on the level of the explanation of the Genesis text, paragraphs 20 to 21 talk about the third day of creation (the conglomeration of the waters and the creation of fruit bearing plants) and paragraphs 22 to 25 about the fourth day (the creation of the sun, the moon, and the stars), this section of the allegory can also be described as a unity constructed around the metaphor of fruit bearing from 1 Corinthians, used to describe the pious actions of the believer in the community. The first section (paragraphs 20 to 21) interprets Gen 1:9-10 on the gathering of the waters and the segregation of the dry land, as well as the creation of the fruit bearing plants in verses 11-12. It serves as an introduction to the second section (paragraphs 22 to 25) where the creation of the lights in the sky (Gen 1:14-18) becomes an allegory for believers living the life expected of them in scripture, i.e. metaphorically bearing fruit. The emotional quality of the prayer opening paragraph 22 sets the tone for the whole allegory on the luminaria from Gen 1, and for this thematic unit that forms in many respects the climax of this first part of the allegory: Ita, domine, ita, oro te, oriatur, sicuti faeis, sicuti das hilaritatem et facultatem, oriatur de terra veritas, et iustitia de caelo respiciat, et fiant in firmamento luminaria [So, Lord, I pray you, as you are the maker, as you are the giver of cheerfulness and of power, let 'truth arise from the earth and justice look down form heaven' ( Ps 84: 12) and let there be 'lights in the firmament' (Gen 1:14)]. The artfully constructed sentence with its hesitant start and triumphant finish poignantly expresses God's love of man as well as Augustine's deeply felt desire for Truth (and to make his audience perceive truth), the fulfilment of which is implicitly compared to the miraculous appearance of the lights in the sky. This is followed by the exhortation from Isa 58:7-8, in turn followed by the command not to be easily satisfied, but to progress towards the contemplative life described by Paul in Phil 2:15-16 (note still the emphasis on the central role of scripture): 182 \ Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Frangamus esurienti pan em nostrum et egenum sine tecto inducamus in domum nostram, nudum vestiamus et domesticos seminis nostri non despiciamus ... et de ista inferiore obtinentes fruge actionis appareamus in delicias contemplationis sicut luminaria in mundo, verbum vitae superius cohaerentes firmamento scripturae tuae [Let us 'break our bread to the hungry,' and take into our house the homeless destitute; let us clothe the naked and not despise the domestic servants who share our human stock (Isa. 58:7-8) ... Passing from the lower good works of the active life to the delights of contemplation, may we 'hold the word of life' which is above and 'appear as lights in the world' (Phil. 2:15) by adhering to the solid firmament of your scripture]. Paragraph 23 interprets the description of the creation of the sun, moon, and stars through the words of 1 Cor 12:7-11 so that the possession of sapientia, scientia and the various gifts of the spirit are, respectively, equated to the luminare maius, the luminare minus and the stel/ae specified in Gen 1: 16. The section is not directly paraenetic, but the subject remains the different levels of spiritual maturity among believers and Paul's views on this gathered from other sections of the letters to the Corinthians and the Romans. Let us look at 13.19.24-25. The texture of the prose is dense with scriptural quotations from various books of both the Old and the New Testament and the intricate interweaving of metaphors from the New Testament and Psalms suggested by the choice of words and the allegorical interpretation of Genesis. The result is a passage with high emotional intensity that works up to a climax at the end of 13.19.25. The paragraph starts with a direct exhortation, God's answer to Augustine (indicated by haec nobiscum disputas at the end of paragraph 23, as O'Donnell 1992, 3:382 points out). But the plural imperatives at the beginning of paragraph 24 make it of course applicable (and a direct exhortation) to all readers: La vamini, mundi estote, auferle nequitiam ab animis vestris facere, iudicate pupillo et iustificate ... discite bonum viduam [But first, 'wash, be clean, remove malice from your souls ... Learn to do good; judge in favour of the orphan and vindicate the widow']. Following these words we have the introduction of yet another exemplum, the rich man from Matt 19:16-22. Although the narrative here follows the story of Matt 19 closely, small alterations and additions remind the reader that this is not quotation but the authorial voice alluding to and interpreting the story in a way that makes the example more universal and the advice given once again clearly applicable to all readers, like the change of dixit to dicat, or the insertion of phrases: 183 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Separet a se amaritudinem ma/itiae atque nequitiae [He must separate himself from the bitterness of 'malice and wickedness' (1 Cor. 5:8)]; Unde ergo tantae spinae, si terra fructifera est [Then if the earth is fruitful, whence come so many thorns?]; Ei sociatus inter quos loquitur sapientiam iIIe [Join the society of those among whom he 'speaks wisdom (1 Cor. 2:9)]. The apostrophe of the dives by the narrator also has the effect of directly addressing the reader, now as an individual and not as part of a group: Ut noris et tu, ut fiant et tibi /uminaria in firmamento caeli. quod non fiet, nisi fuerit illic cor tuum; quod item non fiet, nisi fuerit illi thesaurus tuus [Then you too may know that. For you lights in the firmament are created. This will not happen unless your heart is in it, and that will not occur unless your treasure is there (Matt 6:21)]. 4.6.4 Section (iv): The Value of the Preaching and the Example of the Ministers (paragraphs 26 to 31) I do not aim to present a detailed analysis of the paragraphs 26 to 29 that constitute the interpretation of the fifth and the first section of the sixth day of creation (the creation of the reptiles, birds and other animals), but there are a number of elements from this section that I want to comment on. First I want to point to the insistence in this section on those who serve God by spreading the Gospel. Note further that in 26 to 28 where the allegorical interpretation of the creation of the reptiles and birds (from the sea) occurs Augustine describes the work of God's ministers among fallen sinners, while in 29 to 31 where we have the interpretation of the section on the creation of the other animals (on dry land), he describes the work of the ministers among those already baptized, frequently contrasting it with the previous section. Let us start with the references to the work of praedicatores among the unbelievers. We have in paragraph 26: Separantes enim pretiosum enim sacramenta temptationum a viii facti estis os dei, per quod diceret ... repserunt tua, deus, per opera sanctorum tuorum inter medio fluctus saeculi ad inbuendas gentes nomine tuo in baptismo tuo ... voces nuntiorum tuorum vo/antes super terram iuxta firmamentum libri tui ... neque enim sunt /oquel/ae neque sermones quorum non audiantur voces eorum, quando in omnem terram exiit sonus eorum et in fines orbis terae verba eorum [As you 184 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za separate the precious from the vile, you become the mouth of God (Jer. 15:19) saying ... Through the works of your holy people, God, your mysteries have crept through the midst of the waters of the world's temptations to imbue the nations with your name through baptism ... and the voices of your messengers flying above the earth close to the firmament of your book ... For there are neither languages nor discourses in which their voices are not heard. Their sound is gone out into all the world, and their words to the ends of the earth]; and in paragraph 28: A quo si non esset lapsus Adam ... non opus esset ut in aquis muftis corpora/iter et sensibiliter operarentur despensatores tui mystica facta et dicta [If Adam had not fallen from you ... there would have been no need for your ministers at work 'in many waters' (Cant. 8:7) to resort to mystic actions and words in the realm of the bodily senses]. In paragraph 29 the focus moves from the infide/es to the fide/es. This is, of course, once again a shift from the protreptic praedicatores to the paraenetic: Not only Augustine, but also the described here, have to be constantly aware that both types of audiences have to be addressed: Primarum enim vocum evange/izantium infidelitas hominum causa extitit, sed et fide/es exhorlantur et benedicuntur eis mu/tipliciter de die in diem [Human unbelief was the cause which made the first voices proclaim the gospel. But the faithful are encouraged and blessed frequently 'from day to day' (Ps 60:9)]. Interesting in paragraph 30 is once again the emphasis on the exemplary value of the lives of others, especially the lives of the praedicatores. Indirectly, this is yet another instance where the Confessions itself provides a perspective on the autobiography it starts with: Operentur ergo iam in terra ministri tui, non sicut in aquis infidelitatis annuntiando et /oquendo per miracu/a et sacramenta et voces mysticas, ubi intenta fit ignorantia ... sed operentur etiam sicut in arida discreta a gurgitibus abyssi et sint forma fide/ibus vivendo coram eis et excitando ad imitationem [May your ministers now do their work on 'earth,' not as they did on the waters of unbelief when their preaching and proclamation used miracles and sacred rites and mystical prayers to attract the attention of ignorance ... May they now work as on dry land separated from the whirlpools of the abyss. May they be an example to the faithful by the life they live before them and by arousing them to imitation (1 Thess. 1:7). Thereby hearing them is no mere hearing but leads to doing]. 185 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za The idea that the ministers are those to be imitated, while they themselves aspire to imitate the example of Christ is present also in paragraph 31 : In verbo tuo per evangelistas tuos animam continentem imitando imitatores Christi tui [By your word through your evangelists the soul achieves self-control by modelling itself on the imitators of your Christ]. It is also interesting to note how in paragraphs 29 to 31 the work of the ministri is described in terms of the typical vocabulary of protreptic-paraenetic description strongly texts discussed in chapter 2. The in paragraph 29 of the work of the evangelizantes of Jordan's description (1986, 313) of paraenetic, (quoted above) reminds namely "paraenesis often consists of traditional moral precepts taught to students who ought already to have heard them": Prima rum enim vocum evangelizantium infidelitas hominum causa extitit; sed et fideles exhortantur et benedicuntur eis multipliciter de die in diem [Human unbelief was the cause which made the first voices proclaim the gospel. But the faithful are encouraged and blessed frequently 'from day to day' (Ps 60:9)]. In paragraph 30 excitare occurs once again, in the context of the imitation of lives: Sint forma fidelibus vivendo coram eis et excitando ad imitation em [May they be an example to the faithful by the life they live before them and by arousing them to imitation (1 Thess. 1:7)]. Lastly, in paragraph 31 the theme of friendship and the power of friends to influence each other surface once again: In verbo tuo per evangelistas tuos animam continentem imitando imitatores Christi tui. hoc est enim secundum genus, quoniam aemulatio viri ab amico est: 'estote,' inquit, 'sicut ego, quia et ego sicut vos' [By your word through your evangelists the soul achieves self-control by modeling itself on the imitators of your Christ. That is the meaning of 'after its kind.' For a man is aroused to rivalry (Eccles. 4:4) if a friend says 'Be as I am, since I also am as you are' (GaI4:12)]. As I have indicated, the protreptic-paraenetic 13 could of course also be discussed intentions I identify in the last section of book in this chapter. However, I define it as moving towards the protreptic end of the scale exactly because of the fact that the focus moves away from those in the church, back towards a not yet converted (Manichean) audience. Thus I defer the discussion of this section to the end of chapter 5, which treats all matters concerning the Manicheans as the target audience of the Confessions. 186 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za CHAPTER 5: Cui narra haec: AUDIENCE The one characteristic of the Confessions that at first glance seems to undermine my argument that the text may be read as a protreptic, and that clearly distinguishes it from its antecedents in this genre, is the fact that it presents itself as a sustained prayer. The work is a tour de force of confession, a highly intimate and often lyrical confession of praises and of thanksgiving, of sins, and of faith, by a mortal man speaking to his omnipotent and omniscient God. But, because we know - if merely by the fact of its publication - that the work was intended for a human audience, we must assume this prayer stance to be a rhetorical strategy, designed to influence an audience in a specific manner.' Indeed, as has already become clear from the analysis of Conf9.4.8-11 in chapter 3, there are many signs in the text that Augustine remains acutely aware of his other audience, his readers. He often talks to God about people. At times he addresses these people directly. Sometimes he fights philosophical or theological positions and in this manner bestows on their adherents an indirect presence in the dramatic situation set up in the Confessions. He seems to be aware of the fact that human curiosity may be an important ally in enticing readers to take up his text.2 In addition to this the prominence of the theme of reading and listening and the influence these activities can have on a reader or listener, as well as the awareness of the problems of communication in general, send a strong message as to how his own work should be read. All the elements named above work together in a stream that displays a clearly visible progression in the degree to which the presence of the audience is acknowledged. This progression moves between the poles of barely perceptible implicit acknowledgement of the human audience coupled with explicit disavowal in the opening stages of the work and the first explicit acknowledgement 1 For a discussion especially 79-127). of the possibility of an audience in book 2.3.5 on the one of the communicative function of prayer, see for example Fenske (1997, Joubert's readings (1992, 99) in her section on Augustine's pedagogy, correlate perfectly with my own: she also finds that Augustine probably meant to employ the curiositas of his readers about his personal life as an enticement for them to read his work and that he realized the value of the use of a concrete exemplum as a rhetorical strategy. 2 187 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za hand," and eventual veritable preoccupation with the audience in the opening paragraphs of books 10 and 11 of the Confessions on the other. What is more, the preoccupation with the audience is, throughout the Confessions, very often a preoccupation with a specific segment of the audience, namely those who are Manicheans or may still harbor Manichean sympathies (as has been illustrated already in the case of book 9.4.8-11). In chapter 2 I gave a short survey of the most important elements of Manicheism that play a role in the allusions to this religion in the Confessions. I also pointed out that, in spite of the secret nature of much of Manichean dogma, Augustine must have acquired a thorough knowledge of most aspects of their religious practice." That this knowledge was a powerful tool enabling him to write the many influential polemical works against the Manicheans is well known. However, the degree to which the Confessions is preoccupied with Manichean categories of thought, and more importantly, the degree to which the work seems to target a Manichean audience is a dimension that has not received sufficient consideration from the scholarly Manichean community. texts put the Ries (1995, study 547) points out that the recent discovery of Augustine's anti-Manichean writings of in a new perspective. I argue that a fuller understanding of the Confessions may also be acquired by taking into consideration the new insights made possible by a comparison to these texts (although this is not the objective of the present dissertation). We must keep in mind that, because of the active proselytising of the Manicheans, many of the Manichean arguments or polemical questions may have been familiar even to readers who were not Manicheans. Also for these readers, always in danger (from Augustine's perspective) of being won over to Manicheism, Augustine's handling of the many Manichean categories in the Confessions may have fulfilled an important paraenetic function in constantly confirming why choosing Catholic over Manichean Christianity was the right choice. The relevant issues in this chapter are treated under the following headings: deception, friendship, and a history of failed communication concerns with a Manichean audience indications of the complemented presence (5.1); the role of curiositas (5.2); and (5.3). This section leans heavily on Van Oort's of Manichean categories in the Confessions and is by closer analyses of only two sections: the prologue (5.3.1), and the last 3 books (5.3.2). The chapter ends with an examination of the extent to which the last section O'Donnell (1992, 2:140) speaks about the "veiled dialogue with an imaginary audience" starting at 2.17.15. 3 Although I have shown above that scholars assume that an auditor normally did not have access to all Manichean literature and dogma, Van Oort (2002, 15) points to the fact that parallels between some of the canonical works and Augustine's oeuvre, seem to indicate otherwise. 4 188 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za of the allegory in book 13 targets its Manichean audience (5.4). I want to make clear that the aim of this study is not to do primary research on the occurrence of specific elements of the Manichean religion or of specific textual allusions in the Confessions but to provide a synthesis of research already done in this field in the context of a reading of the Confessions as a document much less narcissistic and much more tuned to influence its audience than research has shown up to now. 5.1 Manicheans, Deception, Friendship, and a History of Failed Communication One aspect of Augustine's relationship with the Manicheans that is often not sufficiently taken into consideration is the role of friendship in the social organization of Manicheism. The prominence of Augustine's awareness of the absurd large number of polemical anti-Manichean light in which he often makes Manicheism predisposed us to always think of Augustine as the arch-anti-Manichean. works and our appear have Yes, the bishop of the Church representing the official position of Catholicism and publicly opposing a rival religious group, often with a large measure of invective or sarcasm and with much success, is part of the picture. But, as my analysis of Confessions 9.4.8-11 has shown, there are many instances in this work where the attitude displayed towards a potential Manichean reader is much less harsh than the attitude displayed towards Manichean dogma. I argue that one of the elements in the Confessions that contribute to the establishment of a positive relationship with its potential Manichean readership is the way in which the theme of friendship is handled in book 4. The book as a whole can, in fact, be seen as pertaining to Augustine's rewarding association relationships with Manicheism as designed and the poignant evocation of the joys of to have a subtle but profound Manichean reader. The themes emphasized influence on the in the introductory 4.1.1 (the paragraph is characterized throughout by allusions to Manicheism and echoes of earlier references to the Manicheans)" show not only that the issues of Manicheism and of friendship are of paramount importance in this book but also that the two themes are closely interrelated. The references to falso nomine religion is, superbi, superstitiosi and vani; the description of the service rendered by the auditores to the Manichean electi ; to praeteritos circuitus erroris mei; even the references to food picked up at the end of the paragraph all ring with echoes of Manicheism as does the references to loquacitatem, lapsantem in lubrico and the diligentibus vanitatem et quaerentibus mendacium in 4.2.2 and the non enim amare te noveram, qui nisi fulgores corporeos 5 189 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Let us look at my claim that the theme of the book as a whole is Augustine's association with Manicheism. In the very first line of book 4 Augustine uses the phrase per idem tempus annorum novem? This, together with in iIIis annis at the opening of 4.2.2 and the regular repetition of time indicators like tunc (which Augustine seems to hammer on in the opening sections of paragraphs in the first and third parts of book 4),7 eo tempore in 4.3.5, as well as the contrasting of nunc with tunc and iIIo tempore in 4.5.10 to 4.6.11 and nondum in 4.15.24 function to show that the unifying element in the events narrated here is the fact that the actions taken and the intellectual processes experienced come from the same time bracket, the time when everything Augustine did and thought was influenced by the Manichean way of thinking. Also the view of friendship and Manicheism portrayed in book 4 is foreshadowed in 4.1.1. The repetition, three times, of the idea of "deception," deception both of Augustine and by Augustine in 4.1.1 sets the tone for the description of the events that follows: Per idem tempus annorum novem, ab undevicensimo anno aetatis meae usque ad duodetricensimum, seducebamur et seducebamus, falsi atque fallentes ... et sectabar ista atque faciebam cum amicis meis per me ac mecum deceptis [During this same period of nine years, from my nineteenth to my twenty-eighth year, our life was one of being seduced and seducing, being deceived and deceiving (2 Tim. 3:13) ... This was how my life was spent, and these were the activities of myself and my friends who had been deceived through me and with me]. This idea of deception includes the semantic domains of seducere, falli, and decipere but as the narration progresses comes to include also the meaning of errare (to be mistaken, to think incorrectly). One way to see the coherence of book 4 is to consider the introduction (4.1.1-4.3.6) as an announcement of the themes of friendship and of Manicheism; central section (the description of the death of the friend in 4.4.7-4.12.19) magnifying glass over one particular friendship role); and the closing section (where Manicheism as an indication of Augustine's the as holding a plays an important (lack of) intellectual cogitare non noveram and talibus enim figmentis in 4.2.3. Also the dalliance with astrology described in 4.3.4 to 4.3.6 is a direct result of Manichean influence (see discussion in chapter 2). Augustine habitually refers to his Manichean allegiance as a nine-year period (O'Donnell 1992, 2: 297). 6 See the opening sections of 4.3.6; 4.4.7; 4.4.8; 4.7.12 and again in the last part of book 4 in the opening sections of4.13.20; 4.14.22; 4.15.25; 4.16.30; 4.16.31. 7 190 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za development under the influence of Manichelsrn." I think that it is significant also for the communicative aim of the Confessions that the central section of book 4 does not show an Augustine being led astray by Manicheans but an Augustine leading his boyhood friend into the superstitiosae fabellae of Manicheism (4.4.7). Let us return to the theme of friendship that I argue is intertwined here with the theme of Manichean deception and error. It is clear that for Augustine thinking of his period with the Manicheans brings strong memories of friendship. The deception was perpetrated together with friends, and by friends on friends as the first person plural verbs, other plural forms, and the explicit cum amicis meis in the introductory section foreshadow. I think the passage also makes clear that the events of his secular career narrated in book 4 are seen as closely related to his Manichean connections. This is a picture of Augustine the Manichean (in a period of life where everything is coloured by Manichean ways of thinking and Manichean friends). Also the other references in book 4 make it easy to imagine the background of the small circle of friends fostering the new adherent to Manicheism (that I described in chapter 2),9 with Augustine in his turn drawing new members, like the friend in Thagaste, into this fold. The most powerful evocation of the role of friendship and how friends influence each other's religious and spiritual allegiance remains of course the description in the central section of book 4 of the death of this friend. Note that Augustine's apostrophe to his own soul and of the soul to other souls that I argued in chapter 4 was a passage embodying protreptic intent, makes up a large part of this central section. Let us turn to the issue of failed communication. Augustine's anti-Manichean works are powerful pieces of polemic. But the fact that he publicly defeated Manichean opponents in open debates does not mean that he succeeded in convincing specific individual adherents of Manicheism (perhaps friends that used to be co-religionists) that the Catholic system of What Augustine narrates about writing the De pu/chro et apto and reading Aristotle's categories can be read as an evaluation of his inability to come to a true understanding of reality, under the influence of the Manichean way of thinking, that is of his inability to conceive of anything that is not a corporeal substance. See the frequent references to Manicheism in this last part of book 4 (especially from 4.15.24 onwards), for example: fa/sa opinio quam de spiritalibus habebam; nescioquam substantiam et naturam summi ma/i ... nec uI/am substantiam malum esse (4.15.24); quid autem superbius quam ut adsererem mira dementia me id esse natura/iter quod tu es? (4.15.26); vo/vens apud me corpora/ia figmenta (4.16.28); falsitas enim erat quam de te cogitabam, non veritas, et figmenta (4.16.29); and putanti quod tu ... corpus esses /ucidum et immensum et ego frustum de iIIo corpore (4.16.31). 8 See for example: maxime quippe me reparabant atque recreabant a/iorum amicorum so/acia. cum quibus amabam quod pro te amabam, et hoc erat ingens fibula et /ongum mendacium in 4.8.13. 9 191 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za belief was preferable to theirs. The very fact that Manicheism continued to exist signifies that Augustine's communication had not been optimally effective. Because I read the Confessions as another effort to communicate, among others, with Manichean readers, it is important here to take a quick look at one aspect of the communication parties that Augustine spells between these two out in his Contra epistolam manichaei quam vocant fundamenti, as Joubert (1992, 100) points out. This section accurately describes the tone and the techniques of persuasion (designed specifically to reach the Manicheans) that Joubert finds in book 13, which I have shown exist in Conf 9.4.8-11, and which I hope to show characterizes most of the Confessions:10 Haeretici sanandi magis quam perdendi: Unum verum Deum omnipotentem ... et rogavi et rogo, ut in refellenda et revincenda haeresi vestra, Manichaei, cui et vos fortasse imprudentius quam malitiosius adhaesistis, det mihi mentem pacatam atque tranquil/am, et magis de vestra correctione, quam de subversione cogitantem. Quanquam enim Dominus per suos servos regna subvertat erroris; ipsos tamen homines, in quantum homines sunt emendandos esse potius, quam perdendos iubet ... Nostrum igitur fuit eligere et optare meliora, ut ad vestram correctionem aditum haberemus, persecutionibus; sed mansuete non in contentione consolando, benevole et aemulatione et cohortando, leniter disputando (c.1) [To heal heretics is better than to destroy them. My prayer to the one true, almighty God ... has been, and is now, that in opposing and refuting the heresy of you thoughtlessness and aiming Manichaeans, as you may after all be heretics more from than from malice, He would give me a mind calm and composed, at your recovery rather than at your discomfiture ... It is ours, accordingly, to desire in preference the better part, that we might attain our end in your correction, not by contention, and strife, and persecutions, but by kindly consolation, by friendly exhortation, by quiet discussion]." Of course this is Augustine's formulation of his modus operandi for the Epistolam manichaei quam vocant fundamenti and not for the Confessions. But it must be clear that the aim formulated here may conceivably still be foremost in Augustine's mind at the time 10 Joubert (1992, 102) ends this section of her article with a description of Augustine's methods to convert his audience in the Confessions that concurs perfectly with the tone and purpose I try to describe in the analyses below: "II veut les séduire par la douceur et en utilisant leur propre langage pour se mettre a leur portée. Tout se passe comme s'il voulait faire une derniêre tentative pour les ramener la foi, par le biais d'une méthode nouvelle fondée sur la seduction." a 11 For this quotation I use the Migne text (1861) and the translation by Schaff (1956). 192 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za of the composition of the Confessions. I argue that a careful reading of the Confessions corroborates this. The remarks above show that if we consider Augustine's Manicheans, expressed concern with the together with what we know about his Manichean past and especially the central role friendship played in this past, we must concede that it is plausible and even probable that by the time he writes the Confessions he may still feel the urgent need to communicate with those still entrapped (from his point of view) in Manicheism. His emphasis on the theme of friendship in the work itself may be seen as yet another device designed to seduce especially his Manichean reader into being a more "obedient" reader and to act as a strong captatio benevo/entiae for especially this group. 5.2 The Role of cutlosttes There is another strategy that I argue the rhetor trained in capitalizing on the psychological make-up of his audience employs in the Confessions: he makes use of natural curiosity to achieve his goal. 12 The device targets, of course, Manichean and other readers in equal measure, but the text of the Confessions contains indications that curiositas was a vice especially associated with Manicheism (see discussion in 5.3.1 below). The fact that in late Antiquity people were especially fascinated by the lives of others, especially the (auto-) biographies of well-known figures like Auqustine," and that Augustine's confession gives them what they crave to have would not make Augustine a literary genius. But if the text has a protreptic aim as I argue, harnessing the curiosity of the reader to achieve an effect at least initially unforeseen by the reader, is a clever rhetorical strategy. What is more, my belief that Augustine is consciously using the curiositas of the reader to motivate him or her to subject him or herself - unknowingly at first - to the protreptic influence of this text is supported by the awareness of the power of curiositas expressed in the When one takes into account also Augustine's 12 Contessions." avowed awareness of problems assailing See also Joubert 1992, 99, referred to above. 13 Brown (1967, 158) points out that "Augustine had come to live in a circle of men who shared a lively curiosity about other people ... The changes that had happened to these men, the course of their 'conversion', the quality of the new life they had adopted, would be a subject of absorbing interest to anyone who had shared such an experience." 14 To go into all the ramifications of how Augustine defines curiositas in the Confessions and the larger explication of this theme falls outside the scope of the present discussion. 193 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za human communication (see discussion below) together with his openly stated intention to try softer and more subtle methods to touch his Manichean audience in a way his polemic works up to this stage have failed to achieve, the idea becomes even more plausible. Let us look at what Augustine says in the Confessions about the curiositas of his reader or readers in general. First, the oblique reference to his audience in 1.6.7 (in spite of the explicit disavowal of the importance of the human addressee) provides a clue to how the both the title of the work and the prayer stance (both equally excluding the human addressee) may have been intended to function rhetorically. The words here (like the expectations embodied in the title of the work and the prayer stance) can be interpreted as an indication by Augustine that in his narrative about himself he will not hold back for fear of human censure, that he will 'tell it all just as it was:' Sed tamen sine me loqui ... sine tamen loqui. quoniam ecce misericordia tua est, non homo, inrisar meus, cui loquor [Nevertheless allow me to speak ... allow me to speak: for I am addressing your mercy, not a man who would laugh at me]. This is, of course, an effective ploy to engage man's curiositas. Next, in 1.13.20-21 we have a version of Augustine's own curiosity about the lives of Dido and Aeneas. (He claims to have been forced to read and learn these passages but the strong emotions he describes do point to a personal fascination.) It is important to note that the theme of curiosity about represented lives and the possibility of these lives influencing the observer, or at least of drawing parallels between those lives and the life of the reader, is already implicitly present here: Nam utiqu« meliores ... quam iIIae quibus tenere cage bar Aeneae nescia cuius errores, oblitus errorum meorum, et plorare Didonem mortuam, quia se occidit ab amore, cum interea me ipsum in his a te marientem, deus, vita mea, siccis oculis ferrem miserrimus. Quid enim miserius misera non miserante se ipsum et flente Didonis mortem, quae fiebat amanda Aenean, non flente autem mortem suam, quae fiebat non amanda te, deus [This was better than the poetry I was later forced to learn about the wanderings of some legendary fellow named Aeneas (forgetful of my own wanderings) and to weep over the death of a Dido who took her own life from love. In reading this, 0 God my life, I myself was meanwhile dying by my alienation from you, and my miserable condition in that respect brought no tear to my eyes. What is more pitiable than a wretch without pity for himself who weeps 194 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za over the death of Dido dying for love of Aeneas, but not weeping over himself dying for his lack of love for you, my God]. In 1.14.23 we have the well-known reference to what has become a modern principle of learning, and which I feel becomes an important code governing the communicative purpose of the Confessions: Nam et latina aliquando infans utique nulla noveram, et tamen advertendo didici sine ullo metu atque cruciatu, inter etiam blandimenta nutricum et ioca adridentium et laetitias adludentium. Oidici vero ilia sine poenali onere urgentium, cum me urgeret cor meum ad parienda concepta sua, ... nisi aliqua verba didicissem non docentibus sed a loquentibus ista liberam curiositatem a ... hinc satis elucet maiorem habere vim ad discenda quam meticulosam necessitatem [At one time in my infancy I also knew no Latin, and yet by listening I learnt it with no fear or pain at all, from my nurses caressing me, from people laughing over jokes, and from those who played games and were enjoying them. I learnt Latin without the threat of punishment from anyone forcing me to learn it. My own heart constrained me to bring its concepts to birth, which I could not have done unless I had learnt some words, not from formal teaching but by listening to people talking ... This experience sufficiently illuminates the truth that free curiosity had greater power to stimulate learning than rigorous coercion]. I think that in the context of the work as a whole this could be reformulated, without stretching the text too far, as "a lesson is learnt or a point internalized better when the receiver is not aware that he is being taught but thinks that he is following a story-line motivated by nothing but his own curiosity." Real protreptic power may be exerted by a text exactly when it hides its protreptic intentions (non a docentibus sed a loquentibus), as the title, the prayer stance and the initial denial of the importance of the human audience do. The last prominent reference to curiositas, that is relevant for my arqurnent," we find in the opening section of book 10, a section I have already implied is much preoccupied with both the purpose of writing the Confessions and the audience it is addressed to. This is also the stage in the work where I have indicated that a different reader may be indicated, different in the sense that this is a reader that has already been submitted to the full protreptic force 15 There is one reference to curiositas in book 2.6.13 and none in the rest of books 2 to 4. The two references in book 5.3.3-4 concern the (misdirected) curiositas of the astrologers; the two references in 6.8.13 and 6.12.22 concern Alypius' curiositas (for the games and about sex respectively); the three references in book 7 once again concern astrology, this time as part of the story of his final disillusionment with it. There are no references to curiositas in books 8 and 9. 195 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za of the conversion story (bolstered by a number of other conversion stories) in books 1 to 9. The more sympathetic complemented reader envisaged from this point onwards in the Confessions is by a different, more vulnerable, persona shown by the narrator (but more about this later). The point is that here the narrator may no longer be as interested in hiding his protreptic intentions as he was before and that the reference to curiositas here must be read against this background. Where books 1 to 9 allowed the reader to be drawn into the story through his or her curiositas, at this point Augustine seems to make explicit that he is no longer interested in a curious but uninvolved onlooker. Against the background of many references to the effect that a life (read or experienced) can have on other lives the antithetical phrase in 10.3.3 clearly implies here that knowing about the life of the other should inspire you to improve your own: Curiosum genus ad cognoscendam vitam alien am, desidiosum ad corrigendam suam [The human race is inquisitive about other people's lives, but negligent to correct their own]. Also the following question implies that the only legitimate reason why others could inquire of Augustine who he is would be because they do want to know who they themselves are in God's sight in order to change and be as God would want them to be: Quid a me quaerunt audire qui sim, qui no/unt a te audire qui sint? [Why do they demand to hear from me what I am when they refuse to hear from you what they are?] Further on in the same paragraph we find the emphasis on a different aspect of what the Confessions requires of its reader: Si autem enim a a te audiant de se ipsis, non poterunt dicere, 'mentitur dominus. ' quid est te audire de se nisi cognoscere se? quis porro cognoscit et dicit, 'fa/sum est,' nisi ipse mentiatur? [But if they were to hear about themselves from you, they could not say 'The Lord is lying.' To hear you speaking about oneself is to know oneself. Moreover, anyone who knows himself and says 'That is false' must be a liar). He or she is supposed to take the message as coming not from the sinful man who writes it, but from the Almighty God who inspires him to write it. This is a position that Augustine has been establishing as the Confessions progressed, namely that God is the ultimate authority for what he tells his reader (see my discussion in chapter 4). Within the context of 196 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za the whole, this implies in turn that the reader should see the Confessions itself as another instance of God calling to him through the voice of another." If 10.3.3 (like the other introductory paragraphs of book 10) muses about the purpose of the Confessions (or even only in retrospection of the conversion story in books 1 to 9), it clearly formulates this purpose as a protreptic one. To get back to the main point of this section: I argue that the analyses above show an Augustine aware of the fact that curiosity can be his ally and willing to use this as part of a rhetorical strategy that aims to do what more direct strategies may fail to achieve. 5.3 How Pervasive is the Expression of Concerns with a Manichean Audience What remains to be shown in this chapter is how pervasive the concern with a Manichean audience is in the Confessions. To do full justice to this subject would, of course, as I have said, require a thorough comparative reading of the Confessions and all the available Manichean documents, as well as a detailed study of Manichean religious practice, which exceeds the limits of the present study." But it should become clear that even an identification of only the broad outlines of Manichean echoes in the Confessions shows that the protreptic devices in the work never lose sight of a potential Manichean reader. Thus, what this section aims at is to present a quick overview of the Confessions in order to create in the reader's mind an impression of how Augustine's awareness of his potential Manichean audience seldom wavers. Put differently, I intend to show that reading the text "through Manichean eyes" often provides a completely different perspective on certain passages in the narrative and eventually on the narrative as a whole. The reader must, however, always remember that to look at the stream of references that reflect consciousness of a Manichean audience is to follow only one line of melody in a dense polyphonic composition. The lines of the awareness of other philosophical schools, the themes of worldly ambition, of deafness and blindness, of God's omnipresence all 16 Many instances of this occurrence are given and explicitly remarked on in the Confessions. See my discussion of book 9 in chapter 4.4. This is a task that Van Oort is presently occupied with, mostly by comparing sections of the to original Manichean documents and finding Manichean categories of thought represented in the work. 17 Confessions 197 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za proceed at the same time, sometimes dominating and sometimes subordinated to the Manichean melody, which is the one I follow in the run through the different books of the Confessions I offer below. To listen only to this melody brings new and important perspectives but is not the whole music. 18 The reader is reminded of the fact that I argue that the purpose of Augustine's constant probing of his Manichean audience in the Confessions is not to deride them or polemically defeat them, but a result of his heartfelt sense of duty towards people in this group, the missionary burden to correct their mistakes and lead them to the light. The findings of Van Dart, who has done a great deal of work identifying elements in the Confessions that would have had special significance for Manichean readers, show a shift that supports this argument. Earlier Van Dart (1997, 241) remarked that "in his Confessiones Augustine was engaged in a controversy with his former coreligionsts and that, at the same time, he played on words by making use of their own vocabulary," but his later formulation (2002, 17) in this regard displays a shift towards my own position. Discussing the repetitive emphasis on central aspects of Manichean spirituality (the materialistic concept of God and the sacred meal) in the Confessions he describes the nature and function of the Manichean element in the work as follows: De frequentie en essentie brengen mij er zelfs toe dit geschrift niet in die laatste plaats te karakteriseren als een anti-manichees document. Veel meer dan we tot nu toe wisten geloofsgenoten heeft de katholieke bischop in het vizier gehad. bij het schrijven zijn vroegere Soms (zoals in boek III) noemt hij hun opvattingen expliciet, maar vaker nog in allerlei subtiele toespelingen impliciet. Men kan nog een stap verder gaan: zelfs positief. voor zijn eigen mystieke spiritualiteit, voor zijn spreken over God en zijn zelf, neemt Augustinus spreekwijzen en gedachten over uit zijn gnostische verleden en brengt hij deze in in de spiritualiteit van die Westerse kerk. The positive attitude that Van Dart perceives and that now prevents him from simply calling the Confessions anti-Manichean is part of what motivates me to see the work as a positive effort to convert its Manichean reader. I argue that what can be identified as anti- Manichean in the Confessions represents the negative stage or stream in the protreptic (where the views of the opposing school(s) or group(s) are countered) and that what Van 18 To describe the Confessions in terms of musical categories is a device many researchers resort to. See for example Clark 1993, 37: "This is 'polyphonic discourse,' not a clear melodic line." 198 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Oort also observes as a strong positive element in the use of Manichean categories and ideas is used as a device to capture the goodwill and persuade the Manichean reader. This represents the positive stream of the protreptic, aimed at nothing less than the conversion of its Manichean readers. I start with a concise overview of the presence of Manichean ideas and categories of thought in the Confessions as a whole." Then, having already shown in chapter 3 that book 9 - the middle of the work - contains a passage that is an unmistakable protreptic to the Manicheans I intend to analyze in some depth the beginning (1.1.1 to 1.5.6) and the end (Books 11 to 13) of the work. 5.3.1 Books 1 to 10: A General Overview a. In Books 1 and 2 Although in books 1 and 2 allusions to Manichean categories and ideas remain subtle and indirect, the fact that the prologue (1.1.1 tot 1.5.6) of the work foreshadows many Manichean themes that are picked up and made explicit at later stages in the Confessions is highly significant. But this is shown in my more extensive analysis below. Here I start with the broad overview of the rest of book 1 and book 2. The very beginning of the "autobiography" in 1.6.7 shows, and is probably meant to announce to the reader, that its point of reference is an anthropology foreign to Manichean thinking. I referred in chapter 1 to Babcock's observation that in book 8 Augustine replaces his earlier Manichean anthropology with a new, anti-Manichean anthropology (1995, 181). The implication is that probably the whole view of Augustine as a sinful creature offered in the Confessions is at least partly designed with the aim of refining and eventually replacing the Manichean view of creation, a total man." Augustine portrays human procreation as part of God's good contrast to the Manichean view that procreation perpetuated the entrapment of divine particles in flesh (the latter belonging to the realm of darkness). Note 19 This leans heavily on Van Oort's inaugural speech (2002, 7-32), which is in fact as a whole dedicated to giving an outline of the sustained nature of Manichean echoes in the Confessions. The catalogue of passages and concepts or themes that he has identified here and elsewhere as having specific Manichean overtones is impressive and should almost suffice to convince the reader of the importance Augustine's Manichean audience had for him. Cary (1994,70) remarks on the fact that Augustine eventually replaced the Manichean idea that the soul is divine and material creation evil with the opposite view (under the influence of NeoPlatonism), namely that "the material world is good and the soul is full of iniquity: 20 199 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za also the emphasis on natural food appropriate to the stage of life and the kind of being (whereas Manichean dogma displayed a fixation with the serving of special kinds of food provided in special ways) and the use of c/amante (that becomes part of the theme of God's calling to man through everything in creation and that had significance in Manichean liturgy as part of the tochme-sotme pair, as chapter 3 illustrates): Nescio unde venerim huc ... nescio sicut audivi a parentibus carnis meae, ex quo et in qua me formasti in tempore tu mihi per eas dabas alimentum infantiae secundum insitutionem tuam ... bonum erat eis bonum meum ex quippe bona omnia ... quod animadverti postmodum, eis. .. ex te c/amante te mihi per haec ipsas quae tribuis intus et foris [I do not know whence I came ... I do not know ... as I heard from the parents of my flesh, him from whom and her in whom you formed me in time ... it was ... you who through them gave me infant food, in accordance with your ordinance ... For the good which came to me from them was a good for them ... and 'from my God is all my salvation' (2 Sam. 23:5). I became aware of this only later when you cried aloud to me through the gifts which you bestow both inwardly in mind and outwardly in body). The idea of God creating man as a wonderful and good being is also present throughout book 1 in the descriptions of man's abilities as dona dei. Book 1 also contains a number of other themes that may have been designed to catch the attention of Manichean readers: the scire/nescire theme foreshadowed in the prologue and running through the whole of the Confessions); the time theme (definitely foreshadowed here and brought to its zenith in book 11 where it uses the Manicheans' polemical quid faciebat deus antequam faceret cae/um et terram? as the springboard for Augustine's "digression" on time); the theme of God as the creator of heaven and earth (introduced like a casual motive here and there but becoming stronger until it receives a full treatment in books 11 to 13) together with the theme of the nature of God, once again especially in his capacity as the Creator of the universe, and his relation to his creation:" the theme of dispersion and restoration to wholeness (in 1.3.3 and especially at the beginning of book 2) that O'Donnell (1992, 2:22) indicates was a well-known concept in late Antique thought but also in Manichean thinking; the theme of man's vo/untas which becomes a keystone All emphasis on God as the creator (especially creator omnium, creator universae creaturae, creator noster) Van Oort sees as part of "Augustine's argument against the Manicheans' view of 21 God, against their denouncement 244) of the Creator of the universe and of this creation itself' (1997, 200 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za element in the final unraveling of Augustine's conceptual problems with the nature of God and creation and the provenance of evil in books 6 to 8; and the theme of man's sinfulness (seemingly out of place in Augustine's description of the infant, but acquiring rhetorical importance as the narrative progresses and becoming an important element of the polemic about sin). The opening section (2.1.1-2.3.8) of Book 2, dedicated to a description of Augustine's sexual excesses and the shortest book of the Confessions, is rich in images, motives and themes that gain importance as the narrative progresses. There are protreptic motives: the image of roads and traveling, as well as the assurance of God's presence even while man is moving away from Him. It also contains the first explicit acknowledgement of the audience (2.3.5). The tone of book 2 is negative and in the first number of paragraphs, especially 2.1.1 to 2.2.4, the emphasis is on Augustine's distance from God through the via image typical of protreptic texts, his state of dispersion, and his inability to see or hear. These are all images strongly associated with Manicheism later in the Confessions. Reco/ens vias me as nequissimas in amaritudine recogitationis meae . .. et conligens me a dispersione, in qua frustatim discissus sum dum ab uno te aversus in multa evanui ... sed exhalabantur nebulae ... et obnubilabant atque obfuscabant cor meum, ut non discemeretur obsurdueram ... et ibam longius serenitasdilectionis a caligine libidinis ... a te ... et ego ibam porro longe a te ... sed efferbui miser, sequens impetum fluxus mei relicto te ... ubi eram? et quam longe exulabam a deliciis domus tuae anno iIIo sexto decimo aetatis camis meae [The recalling of my wicked ways is bitter in my memory ... You gathered me together from the state of disintegration in which I had been fruitlessly divided. I turned from unity in you to be lost in multiplicity ... clouds ... filled the air ... befogged and obscured my heart so that it could not see the difference between love's serenity and lust's darkness ... I had become deafened ... I traveled very far from you ... and I traveled much further away from you ... But I in my misery seethed and followed the driving force of my impulses, abandoning you ... Where was I in the sixteenth year of the age of my flesh? 'Far away in exile from the pleasures of your house' (Mic. 2:9)]. Augustine's reflection on the possibility that his sexual excesses might have been curbed by marriage and canalized into serving its proper function, namely procreation (followed, ostensibly to support his argument, by three quotations on marriage from Paul's letter to the Corinthians) was probably also designed to catch the attention of a Manichean reader. This is a statement directly contradicting Manichean 201 belief and, more significantly, Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za supported by quotations from the part of scripture the authority of which the Manicheans did recognize, Paul's letters. But the main emphasis in book 2 is on sin, as the first line announces: Recordari volo transactas foeditates meas et camales corruptiones animae [I intend to remind myself of my past foulnesses and carnal corruptions]. This is also illustrated by the second (more than) half of the book through the example of the pear theft. And sin is a central issue in the debate between Augustine and the Manicheans, as my analysis of 9.4.7-11 in chapter 3 shows and as the careful analyses of the episode of the pear theft by a number of scholars emphasize. The fact is that what seems to most modern readers the overemphasizing of a childish prank may have had completely different overtones for a Manichean audience to whom the senseless act of throwing fruit - that they believed contained particles of the divine - to pigs must have appeared "particularly shocking" (O'Donnell 1992, 2:127; see also Van Oort 1997, 245 and 2002, 30-31). This is just one illustration of how one's perspective on the text changes once you start reading through the eyes of a Manichean reader (even to the limited extent to which this is possible). O'Donnell (1992, 127) remarks that Augustine "dramatized the episode in part to shock his old co-religionists." What I am interested in here is why Augustine would want to shock his former co-religionists. The argument of this dissertation is that the constant probing of Manichean ideas and beliefs in the Confessions, sometimes subtly, sometimes sarcastically, sometimes coaxingly, is designed as a strong argument to convert the Manichean reader. b. In Books 3 to 8 In book 3.6.10 Augustine describes his "falling in" with the Manicheans and from this point onwards, at least up to book 8, perhaps the main concern of the narrative is to show the development of Augustine's thought on the nature of God and the origin of evil, a process he repeatedly emphasizes was hampered by Manichean thinking. But let us first look at the opening paragraphs of book 3. The introductory paragraphs recapitulate some of the motives already present in book 2 and introduce others that will still become important further on: Nondum amabam, et amare amabam ... quaerebam quid amarem, amans amare ... amare et amari dulce mihi erat [As yet I had never been in love and I longed to 202 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za love ... I sought an object for my love; I was in love with love ... To me it was sweet to love and to be loved]. Especially the culinary incorruptibi/ium, imagery here (sartago, felle, sauvitatem, aspersisti) cibo, fame, as in book esuriebam, alimentorum 9 and throughout in the Confessions would have had special meaning for Manichean readers. This is underlined again by the recent discovery of Manichean depictions of the sacred meal discussed by Van Dort (2002, 24) and by the celebration in hymns he quotes (2002, 24-25) that refer repeatedly to the 'taste' and the 'sweetness' of God as well as to the idea of eating with the spirit. O'Donnell (1992, 2: 173) also points to the interesting phantasmata, relation and culinary imagery used to express Augustine's between curiositas, desire for but failure to find real spiritual food: The extensive food metaphor reflects the practice of the Manichean elect, who consumed particles of the divine in their banquets. metaphor ('famis mihi erat) marked Augustine's At 3.1.1 a parallel use of isolation from authentic nourishment; here now he ingests all manner of false victuals. The emphasis on phantasmata is likewise apt: curiositas has led him into a world of images - eye- food, images of things that never existed. The paragraph thus moves from imagery drawn from concupiscentia carnis (wolfish feeding on food that does not satisfy) to imagery drawn from concupiscentia ocu/orum (greedy gazing at phantasmata that are hollow and empty): all against a backdrop of empty words. Also the theme of friendship that plays such an important role in book 4 and in Augustine's relationships with Manicheans in general, is introduced: Venam igitur amicitiae coinquinabam [I therefore polluted the spring water of friendship]. Together with this we find the motif of the sin of curiositas, which predominates in book 3 and is particularly associated with the Manicheans whom Augustine curiositas "to lead the naïve astray" (O'Donnell 1992,2: accused of using 171) and to whom he implies he himself was drawn to because of his curiositas (O'Donnell 1992, 2: 154). Augustine's description of his introduction into Manicheism in book 3 is most important for the way it introduces the basic motifs by which many oblique references in other parts of the Confessions may be unequivocally identified as meant to refer to Manicheism, as is 203 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za illustrated by Van Oort's analyses (1997, 236-243 and 2002, 11-17) as well as my analysis of 9.4.8-11 in chapter 3. But let us take a quick look at books 3 to 8 of the Confessions where references to Manicheism and arguments against central tenets of Manichean dogma are at their most explicit and a preoccupation with Manicheism is not difficult to illustrate. What is presented in book 3 as the autobiographical version of Augustine's joining of the Manichean sect is in fact the strongest direct critique of Manicheism in the Confessions. It starts with a general impressionistic rendition describing the Manicheans as delirantes, camales, loquaces, as laquei diaboli, as advocating phantasmata. Then the focus narrows down to the two main conceptual problems with Manicheism that Augustine will treat up to book 7 (the issues of the origin of evil and the nature of God) together with the other important issue on which he contradicts them throughout the Confessions, their criticism of the Old Testament. The narrative in book 4, as I show above, is bracketed together by references to the influence of Manichean thinking on Augustine's thought and his friendships. The first part of book 5 presents the argument against Manichean claims about astronomy and its importance in their system of belief while the second half emphasizes in turn the faults of thinking of sin as caused by the alia natura, and of God and evil as substances. narrative moves from the final disillusionment Faustus' inability to resolve Augustine's with Manichean dogma precipitated The by difficulties to the beginning of a shift back to Catholic Christianity, through the removal of the important hurdle of Manichean criticism of scripture by means of Ambrose's sermons. Book 6 represents an inexorable (though slow) movement towards the final resolution of problems with the Old Testament and conceptual problems with the nature of God and evil (presented in book 7). It contains the vita Alypii which may have held exemplary value for the Manichean reader who is characterized, like Alypius, as particularly susceptible to the sin of curiositas (O'Donnell 1992, 2: 377). It also contains the recapitulating summary of his progress since the reading of the Hortensius that I discussed in chapter 4.3 above. Book 7, as I have said, presents the culmination of one aspect of the negative stream of Manichean criticism in the Confessions in the resolution of the conceptual problems that have been present up to this point as well as matters of Christology, while book 8 in the midst of its emotional version of Augustine's conversion keeps in sight its Manichean reader through its dependence on Paul's letter to the Romans and its emphasis on the role of the free will: "Het bekeringsverhaal in boek VIII staat geheel in de context van de manichese thematiek van de twee naturen en de twee willen" (Van Oort 2002, 31), "ook wel paulinisch benoemd als 'de oude mens' tegenover 'de nieuwe mens'" (Van Oort 2002, 69). 204 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za As I have said, the whole of books 3 to 8 is Augustine's representation of how he learnt through a painfully slow and gradual process to free himself from the erroneous thinking of the Manichees. Manicheism Although the author knows the answers and also provisionally nevertheless, made to accompany to the problems posed by indicates the solutions to his reader, the reader is, the young Augustine on every step of the arduous journey, through every ramification of the argument against the Manichean position. This is a slow and patient effort to help the reader follow Augustine in his process of conversion and, hopefully, to convert the reader, but, note well, to convert especially a Manichean reader or one confused with the Manichean arguments that this group was so ready to sling at less sophisticated Catholics at any possible occaslon." c. In Books 9 and 10 The most important Manichean thread in book 9 I have already discussed in chapter 3. Let us move on to book 10. This is one book where Manichean echoes seem, at first reading, far distant. I have also argued that the audience targeted here is different from the one in the earlier books of the Confessions. To a certain extent Augustine opens himself up much more intimately here, a procedure which would require the more sympathetic audience he defines here. But Van Oort's recent analysis (2002, 21-28) of the recapitulation of the search for God in book 10 shows how this search, now conducted through a move into the self as a search within the own soul, is presented in terms especially accessible to the Manichean reader. Augustine simultaneously contradicts uses Manichean and appropriates terms and categories them,23 a procedure designed to effect highly efficient communication. in a way that that is, to my mind, Van Dort points out that Manichean literature, hymns and visual art bear out the importance thinking in terms of the five senses had for this group. The description of God's beauty in terms of the five senses has strong parallels in Manichean descriptions of God as well as in their thinking about the sacred meal served to the. elect by the auditors, a ritual in which Augustine himself partook when See for example also van Oort on the role of the Manichean concept of God in Augustine's thinking in books 4 to 7 (2002, 20-21); the central importance of the Manichean idea of two opposing wills in man in book 8 (2002, 31); the use of terminology with specific Manichean overtones in book 9 (1997, 246). 22 Van Oort (2002, 23) argues "dat Augustinus, wanneer hij de vraag stelt wie God is, kennelijk opponeert tegen manichese terminiogie en deze tegelijk overneemt." 23 205 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za he was still a Manichean." For them God is "zichtbaar, hoorbaar, ruikbaar, smaak- en tastbaar voor de innerlijke mens" (Van Oort 2002, 24). The combination of the description of a search for God in Manichean terms in the first section of book 10 with the confession of sins in the second section, an action that the Manicheans seem to have been preoccupied with, and "opvallend verwant met manichese biechtspiegels" (Van Oort 2002, 32), makes it clear that book 10 does not lose sight of its potential Manichean reader. The catalogue above is far from exhaustive. A careful reading mindful of Manichean overtones, however, by any reader with knowledge of only those categories of Manichean thought already discussed here, should be enough to convince that reader Augustine has his Manichean reader on his mind constantly, that he probes this reader constantly to react to his use, throughout the Confessions, of words and concepts that were loaded concepts in Manichean religious practice. In the following section of this chapter, 5.3.2 I focus, as I have indicated, on the beginning and the end of the Confessions. My aim is to show that also in these key passages in the work a clear awareness of the Manichean audience is discernable. 5.3.2 Manichean Echoes in the Prologue Like the indications of protreptic purpose in the prologue allusions to a Manichean audience are also already present at the outset of the Confessions, thus, to my mind, providing another strong argument for seeing the Manichean segment of Augustine's intended audience as a prime target for the protreptic devices used in the work.25 The very opening line of 1.1.1 (a quote from Ps 144, followed by one from Ps 146: magnus es, domine, et /audabilis va/de. magna virtus tua, et sapientiae tuae non est numerus) has clear Manichean echoes: Van Oort (1997, 243) points out that magnus reminds of the title "Father of Greatness" that appears repeatedly in, inter alia, the Manichean Psalm Book.26 This could of course be an accidental similarity. See Van Oort 2002 (25-28) on what we know about Augustine's sacred meal. 24 25 experience with the Manichean See also Van Oort's analyses of this prologue (1993 and 2002). Van Oort (1993, 243) also thinks that, because these psalm texts echo well known and frequently used Manichean phrases, Augustine uses them at this point "as a polemic against the Manicheans". 26 206 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za But let us look at the next words: magna virtus tua et sapientiae tuae. The Manicheans used 1 Cor.1:2427 as the basis for a pivotal doctrine that Christ was God's power and wisdom. They seemed to have thought of this in a typically literal way, as they held that his virtus was present in the moon and his sapientia in the sun. Also the phrase non est numerus was one well known in Manichean documents (Van Dort 1993, 244). There are other elements in this prologue that the modern reader can, with hindsight, call Manichean on the grounds of internal evidence (especially from book 3). But Augustine's contemporaries may well have realized the overtones of these terms at first sight. An example of this is the use of the word superbis. Superbia becomes, as the story of the Confessions unfolds, perhaps the concept to embody the vices Manicheism stands for.28 The Bible verse Augustine quotes here (1 Pet 5:5 Deus superbis resistit) recurs several times in the Confessions and superbia is significantly associated with the Manicheans where they are first introduced in Conf 3.6.10 (Van Dort 1997, 240): /taque incidi in homines superbe de/irantes, carna/es nimis et /oquaces [That explains why I fell in with men proud of their slick talk, very earthly-minded and loquacious]. In the next words of the prologue we have the implicit introduction of Matt 7:7, as I have shown (/audabunt dominum qui requirunt eum. quaerentes enim inveniunt eum et invenientes /audabunt eum). But this is a Bible verse that the Manicheans were very fond of quoting as a remark in Augustine's De moribus ecclesiae catholicae tells us (Ferrari 1994, 162). The words of Matt 7:7 would not only have had specific overtones for a Manichean audience, they also foreshadow an important theme in the whole of the Confessions and are in fact present in the emotionally loaded last words of the work, as I have shown. That Matt 7:7 played an important role in Manichean thinking does not, of course, necessarily make Augustine's oblique allusion to this verse a reference to his Manichean audience. The fact that there are a number of these indirect allusions does, however, cause the one instance to reinforce the other. Further, the emphasis in the prologue on God's act of creation through the repetition of portio creaturae tuae and fecisti nos reminds strongly of Augustine's many polemics with the Manicheans on creation and on the meaning of the book of Genesis in the Old 27 [Praedicamus] ... Christum Dei virtutem, et Dei sapientiam. 26 See for example Van Oort's analyses of book 3.6.10-3.10-18 207 (1997, 236-245 and 2002, 11-17). Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Testament. It foreshadows the theme of God the creator that I have argued (in 5.3.1 above) forms an important line throughout the Confessions. It also foreshadows the treatment of the creation story in books 11-13 that I argue below is designed especially to convince a Manichean reader. In the same way the seemingly neutral phrase, a/iud enim pro a/io potest invocare nesciens, fulfils the double function of pointing to the Manicheans important aspect of Augustine's inner journey and prefiguring and thus of the progression an in the Confessions. He describes himself as for too long calling in vain to a conception of God-ina-quasi-physical form, a conception shaped by the Manicheans and one that was false and not really God at all. The Augustine misconception presented in the Confessions labours under this up to book 7. It is only when he discovers Neo-Platonist philosophy and its conceptual apparatus that he is at last free to really grasp the nature of God's existence. Also the phrase humanitatem filii tui at the end of the paragraph would have nettled a Manichean reader. For these words touch on the main point of difference between Catholic and Manichean Christology: The Manicheans held that Jesus lived on earth in a pseudobody only, that he was never really human. The last element in this paragraph I want to argue was designed to talk to the Manicheans is the following: Da mihi scire et intellegere utrum sit prius invocare te an /audare te, et scire te prius sit an invocare te. sed quis te invocat nesciens te? ['Grant me Lord to know and understand' (Ps 118: 34, 73, 144) which comes first - to call upon you or to praise you, and whether knowing you precedes calling upon you. But who calls upon you when he does not know you?] Here the tone of the passage has changed. The accumulation of questions introduces a more intellectual atmosphere, foreshadowing the important role of intellectual inquiry in the narrative that follows.29 But I have pointed out that exactly this was a cardinal issue on which the Manicheans claimed superiority over the Catholics (they accused the Catholics of expecting blind faith while they declared that their members would only have to believe what they could grasp through their own intellect). Here Augustine counters the Manichean This is also emphasized by Herzog (1984, 216): "Das zu Gott gewandte Sprechen der laudatio halt sich durch, aber es schliesst die Form der quaestio, der philosophischen Zergliederung ein ... Augustin ... hat mit dieser ROckbindung des 'quaerere' ... an das 'credere' ... mittels der 'invocatio' ... auch inhaltlich den Lobpreis des Anfangs auf die theologischen Er6rterungen der FrOhschriften (Problem der 'auctoritas' und des verhëlmlsses von 'fides' und 'intellectus') zurOckgefOhrt." 29 208 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za claim (as yet only provisionally and concisely) by offering a solution to the dilemma of authority versus reason: he invokes the ultimate authority, God (in whom he believes), to help him use his reason (through which he wishes to understand). This is not the arrogant assumption of the Manicheans that man can reach the ultimate goal through human reason alone. But the reader is assured that he will not have to forgo intellectual inquiry in the reading of this text. The next two paragraphs of the prologue (1.2.2-1.4.4) are much less densely composed than 1.1.1 and treat the question posed in the opening line of 1.4.4: quid es ergo, deus meus? It is obvious that Augustine's "concern with the 'place' of God ... tied up with [his] pre-conversion notion of God permeating all matter" (O'Donnell 1992, 2: 18) here is dominated by Manichean ways of thinking. Once again I want to argue that this is not so much Augustine's way of clarifying for himself how to think about God (more than ten years after having sorted out this problem), as a device to stimulate and direct the thought processes of the reader, whether this reader is a Manichean or a Catholic Christian (potentially) bombarded by Manichean propaganda. The last three paragraphs represent "invocation at last," (O'Donnell 1992, 2:23). But even in the midst of emotional and ecstatic invocation Augustine Manichean reader. O'Donnell's paradoxes, with a submerged does not lose sight of his assertion (1992, 2:23) that "the paragraph is a tissue of polemical purpose," aiming with its conglomeration of paradoxes "to rule out Manichean criticism of the God of the Old Testament" provides very good support for my contention that the whole of the prologue of the Confessions is so strongly dominated by "Manichean concerns" that one cannot but see this as a significant indication of who a very important segment of the intended audience of the work may be. Let me repeat what I said above: in the analysis of the prologue offered here I consider a number of elements as allusions to issues that had special significance for the Manichean reader. In each case the allusion is so subtle and indirect that the nagging suspicion occurs that this may be over-interpretation. If one considers, however, the frequency of these subtle Manichean echoes together with the fact that they occur in a prologue where indirect foreshadowing rather than direct statement is to be expected the chances of these allusions being accidental are much reduced." If these allusions are picked up and made more explicit as the narrative of the Confessions progresses (as my discussion confirms) the echoes in the prologue acquire, in retrospect, great significance indeed. 30 Van Oort (2002, 19) speaks of the "thematisch-indicatieve functie" of the prologue. 209 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za 5.3.3 Augustine's Analysis of the Creation Story and Continued Preoccupation with a Manichean Audience Most scholars recognize, like O'Donnell (1992, 3:252 and 343), that book 11 and a section of book 13 (13.2+8.43-13.30.45) is aimed more or less directly at the Manicheans. Van Oort and others have pointed to the importance of Manichean books of the categories of thought Contessions?' In this section I argue that throughout the last three Augustine's primary objective in books 11 to 13 is to redeem the story of creation in the sight of his Manichean reader, that Augustine's so-called exegesis of the creation story in Genesis is less an exegesis than a rhetorical tour de force to convince the Manicheans of the validity of this story. This is achieved through a technique used also in book 9.4.7-11, as I have shown, and at other pivotal points in the Confessions. Augustine attempts to convince his Manichean reader that the full message of the creation story in Gen 1, the story rejected (together with the rest of the Old Testament) by the Manicheans, is present in the words of Paul, the apostle and biblical author specially venerated by them. Books 11 to 13 clearly has the Manichean reader in mind throughout, but the most significant use of devices aimed at this group occurs in books12 and 13 and then especially in book 13.22.32 to 13.34.49. We find here, in fact, a combination of two techniques previously used in the Confessions. The first is the intermingling of texts from the Old and the New Testament (especially the texts by Paul) as I show in my analysis Confessions, when Augustine's of Conf 9.4.7-11 above. Throughout the intermingles texts from the Old and New Testaments this has as at least one of its functions to show the consistency of the message carried by these two sections of the Bible, and by implication to illustrate the value of the Old Testament in the eyes of those sceptical about its legitimacy. The second is the technique of interpreting a text by summarising its contents in the words of another text, as Augustine does in the narration of his reading of the Horlensius (see the analysis in chapter 4) and of the Neo-Platonic documents. Joubert (1992, 102) explains the reasons for Augustine's choice of specifically the creation story in Gen 1 as the subject of his exegesis against the background of Augustine's desire "pour réformer ses anciens amis": it affords him the opportunity to treat the philosophical problems at the centre of his differences with the Manicheans (and the Neo-Platonists) and simultaneously to redeem the Old Testament in their eyes. See also for example Desch 1998, 56: "Augustinus' Sibelinterpretation in den SOchern X-XIII ist systematische Widerlegung der Manlchaer, geht aber weit darOber hinaus und wird zu einem existentiellen Anliegen Augustins." 31 210 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za a. In Book 11 Scholars like Mayer (1974,2:151) and O'Donnell (1992, 3:252) confirm that book 11 as a whole targets a Manichean audience familiar with a dogma that stressed the importance of three moments in time, a dogma that is replaced here with Augustine's interpretation of time and eternity. I will not analyse book 11 in detail here, but it is important to look at its opening, which functions as the opening of the whole of the so-called exegetical section of the Confessions, as well as to take a quick look at main gist of the narrative. The "considerable reorientation" that O'Donnell indicates is required from this point onwards in the Confessions is thoroughly prepared in the opening paragraphs (11.1.111.2.4) where a number of factors indicate that this is a new beginning. First there is renewed emphasis on the protreptic-paraenetic purpose of the confession coupled with explicit mention of the audience, repetition of the opening phrases of the work and the use of the by now familiar excito in 11.1.1: Cur ergo tibi tot rerum narrationes digera? non utique ut per me noveris ea, sed affectum meum excito in te. et eorum qui haec legunt. ut dicamus omnes. 'magnus dominus et laudabilis valde' ... ut liberes nos omnino, quoniam coepisti, ut desinamus esse miseri in nobis et beatificemur in te [Why then do I set before you an ordered account of so many things? It is certainly not through me that you know them. But I am stirring up love for you in myself and in those who read this, so that we may all say 'Great is the Lord and highly worthy to be praised' (Ps 47:1) ... so that the deliverance that you have begun may be complete. So I may cease to be wretched in myself and may find happiness in you]; and in 11.2.3: Misericordia tua exaudiat desiderium meum, quoniam non mihi soli aestuat. sed usui vult esse fraternae caritati [May your mercy attend to my longing which burns hot for my personal advantage but desires to be of use in love to the brethren]. Further, as we expect, the issue of time as the theme for book 11 is announced in the first line: Numquid, domine, cum tua sit aeternitas, ignoras quae tibi dico, aut ad tempus vides quod fit in tempore? [Lord, eternity is yours, so you cannot be ignorant of what I tell you]. 211 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za But note that in 11.1.1 and 11.2.2 also the nature and purpose of the work as a whole are redefined in terms of the time-theme in the references to the length of the narrative and the lack of time to say all that can be said: Tot rerum narrationes ... ecce narravi tibi multa ... quando autem sufficio lingua calami enuntiare omnia horlamenta tua ... et si sufficio ... caro mihi valent stil/ae temporum [An ordered account of so many things ... See, the long story I have told ... But when shall I be capable of proclaiming by 'the tongue of my pen' (Ps 44:2) all your exhortations ... And if I have the capacity ... the drops of time are too precious to me]. We also have spread over 11.1.1 to 11.2.4 the renewed evocation of Matt 7:7 (and also verse 8) that plays a crucial role in the opening and closing lines of the Confessions: Novit pater vester quid vobis opus sit, priusquam petatis ab eo ... neque adversus pulsantes c/audas eam ... quidquid invenero in libris tuis ... quae omnia nobis apponuntur quaerentibus regnum ... et placeat in conspectus misericoridae tuae in venire me gratiam ante te, ut aperiantur pulsanti mihi interiora sermonum tuorum ... mediatorem tuum et nostrum, per quem nos quaesisti non quaerentes te, quaesisti autem ut quaereremus te ['Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him' (Matt 6:8) ... and do not close the gate to us that knock ... what I find in your books ... They are all things added to us as we seek your kingdom ... May it please you that in the sight of your mercy (Ps 18:15) I may find grace before you, so that to me as I knock (Matt 7:7) may be opened the hidden meaning of your words ... mediator between yourself and us. By Him you sought us when we were not seeking you (Rom 10:20)]; as well as a repetition of verbs of calling and answering evoking the Manichean tochmesotme pair (vocasti nos, exaudiat, audi clamantem de profundo ... quo c/amabimus? ... exaudi ... per quem vocestïï. But most important for the significance of the theme treated in books 11 to 13 as well as for the creation of a sense of a new beginning is the attitude and tone of renewed invocation in the opening paragraphs of book 11. We now have the classical statement of the greatness of the theme (quando autem sufficio lingua calami enuntiare omnia horlamenta omnes terrores tuos, et consolationes et gubemationes) tua et and repeated prayers for help in 11.2.3-11.2.4: Intende orationi meae et misericordia tua exaudiat desiderium meum ... circumcide ab omni temeritate omnique mendacio interiora et exteriora labia mea. sint castae 212 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za deliciae meae scripturae tuae, nec fallar in eis nec fallam ex eis. domine, aftende et miserere ... aftende animam meam et audi c/amantem de profunda ... /argire inde spatium meditationibus nostris in abdita legis tuae ... 0 domine, perfice me et reve/a mihi eas ... vide, pater, aspice et vide et approba, misericordiae et p/aceat in conspectu tuae in venire me gratiam ante te ... obsecro per dominum nostrum /esum Christum ... per eum te obsecro [Lord my God, 'hear my prayer' (Ps 60:2), may your mercy attend to my longing ... Circumcise my lips (cf. Exod. 6:12), inwardly and outwardly, from all rashness and falsehood. May your scriptures be my pure delight, so that I am not deceived in them and do not lead others astray in interpreting them. 'Lord, listen and have mercy' (Ps 26:7; 85:3) ... Listen to my soul and hear it crying from the depth ... From them grant us space for our meditations on the secret recesses of your law ... 0 Lord, bring me to perfection (Ps 16:5) and reveal to me the meaning of these pages ... See Father: look and see and give your approval. May it please you that in the sight of your mercy (Ps 18:15) I may find grace before you ... I make my prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ ... I make my prayer to you through Him]. The body of book 11 is dedicated to the first sentence of Gen 1:1, in principia fecisti cae/um et terram. It is important to note that I agree with O'Donnell (1992, 3: 253) who in his broad outline of book 11 divides the discussion of Gen 1:1 into three sections (A riddle: on the eternity of God; Time; Time and eternity), but sees this narrative not as a digression on time but as an integral part of the reading of the Genesis text presented by Augustine. The opening section ends with a repetition of what was identified as Manichean echoes in 1.1.1 and with references to the second person of the Trinity in terms that, once again, simultaneously contradicts and appropriates Manichean Christological terms in 11.9.11: /n hoc principia, deus, fecisti cae/um et terram in verba tuo, in filio tuo, in virtute tua, in sapientia tua, in veritate tua [In this beginning, God, you made heaven and earth, in your Word, in your Son, in your power, in your wisdom, in your truth]. Augustine, it is important contemplation to note, also introduces on time by reference the first section to the Manichean of his famous (and Neo-Platonic) polemical question quid faciebat deus antequam faceret cae/um et terram? Moreover, the recapitulating closing section of book 11 (11.29.39-11.31.41) unmistakeably moves the focus back to the Manichean reader when Augustine says in 11.30.40: Nec patiar quaestiones hominum qui poena/i morbo plus sitiunt quam capiunt et dicunt, 'quid faciebat deus antequam faceret cae/um et terram' [I shall not have to 213 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za endure the questions of people who suffer from a disease which brings its own punishment and want to drink more than they have the capacity to hold. They say 'What was God doing before he made heaven and earth?']. Like in the reading of Ps 4 presented in book 9, Augustine's concern for his Manichean readers is clear when in 11.30.40 he prays to God to bring about what he assumes his arguments might fall short of doing: Da illis, domine, bene cogitare quid dicant et in venire quia non dicitur numquam ubi non est tempus ... videant itaque nul/um tempus esse posse sine creatura et desinant istam vanitatem loquP2 [Grant them, Lord, to consider carefully what they are saying and to make the discovery that where there is no time, one cannot use the word 'never' ... Let them therefore see that without the creation no time can exist, and let them cease to speak that vanity (Ps 143:8)]. Thus the reading of Genesis presented introduced specifically, by a discussion in the last three books of the Confessions with its main focus on the phrase in principia, on the problems the Manicheans is but more had with this phrase. The length of the discussion of the issue of time is probably also due to the importance this matter had in Manichean dogma and it reflects once again Augustine's desire to cure his Manichean reader of what he now believes to be erroneous thinking. This fact must make us seriously consider the possibility that what is presented in the last three books of the Confessions is much less a formal analysis of a section of scripture than a meditation presented, like the meditation on Ps 4, with the purpose of talking to the Manicheans about the important remaining issues of cosmology and the authority of scripture, especially of the Old Testament. b. In Book 12 Book 12 consists of two main sections. The first, following the short introductory paragraph, is a continuation of the meditation on Gen 1 where it left off in book 11, still not progressing past the first verse. The second section of the book reflects on the nature of the process of interpretation itself. The sections of book 12 that would have held the biggest interest for its Manichean readers, and which I examine more closely here, are the opening paragraph and the five paragraphs from 12.10.10 to 12.11.14, near the end of the first section. 32 O'Donnell (1992, 3: 297) notes the echo of Ps 4 here. 214 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Let us start with the opening paragraph. The fabric of 12.1.1 is made up almost entirely of references to Matt 7:7, the verse we know had special meaning for the Manicheans. We have an opening statement about scripture knocking on Augustine's heart (probably a reference to his encounter with the Word described in the previous book): Multa satagit cor meum, domine, in hac inopia vitae meae, pulsatum verbis sanctae scripturae tuae [In my needy life, Lord, my heart is much exercised under the impact made by the words of your holy scripture]. This is followed by an interpretative quotation of Matt 7:7, a description of the process of the interpretation of scripture in terms of the imagery of asking, seeking and knocking: Et ideo plerumque in sermone copiosa est egestas humanae intellegentiae, quia plus loquitur inquisitio quam inventio, et longior est petitio quam impetratio, et operosior est manus pulsans quam sumens [All too frequently the poverty of human intelligence has plenty to say, for inquiry employs more words than the discovery of the solution; it takes longer to state a request than to have it granted, and the hand which knocks has more work to do than the hand which receives]. In the next lines of 12.1.1 we have Augustine's explicit appropriation of God's promises in Rom. 8:31 and those embodied in Matt 7:8, framing the first full verbatim quotation of Matt 7:7: Tenemus promissum: quis corrumpet iIIud? si deus pro nobis, quis contra nos? 'petite et accipietis, quaerite et invenietis, pulsate et aperietur vobis. Omnis enim qui petit accipit, et quaerens invenite, et pulsanti aperietur' [We hold on to the promise, which non can make null and void. 'If God is for us, who can be against us?' (Rom. 8:31). 'Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives and the door is opened to the one who knocks' (Matt 7:7-8)]. The closing statement of the paragraph is a reaffirmation of the trust put in God's promises: Promissa tua sunt, et quis falli timeat cum promittit veritas? [These are your promises, and when the promise is given by Truth, who fears to be deceived?] It is clear that this introduction prepares the reader to see that the following paragraphs present Augustine in the process of asking from, seeking in, and knocking on the door of scripture (as the other comprehensive allusion to Matt 7:7 at the end of the Confessions also confirms), but more importantly, that the answers he arrives at represent the fulfilment 215 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za of God's promises. If God keeps his side of the bargain, the interpretation we are presented with in the following paragraphs bear the authority of God. As far as the rest of book 12 (except for paragraphs 10 to 14 that I discuss below) is concerned, an anti-Manichean argument or protreptic-paraenetic stream directed at the Manicheans is not as obvious at first reading as, for example, in book 11. O'Donnell emphasizes that the imaginary adversaries Augustine allows to speak in the second section of book 12 do not exemplify specific groups, "not even the Manichees" (1992, 3:317). Still, it is clear that book 12 does have a role to play in the effort to redeem the text of Genesis in the eyes of the Manicheans, an enterprise enhanced by the use in the opening paragraph of the book of a Biblical text that had special meaning for this group. Where in book 11 Augustine endeavours to refute Manichean objections against the opening timephrase of Gen 1 and Manichean dogma about time, the first section of book 12 takes the process just a little step further in its treatment of Manichean ideas about matter and the way God created through his Word, issues still pertaining to the first verse of Gen 1. But it is also important to convince the Manichean reader (together with any other potential reader) of the legitimacy of the process of interpretation followed here in the first place, as well as of the authority of the answers arrived at in due course. This is what the second section of book 12 is dedicated to. Note, however, Augustine's humble approach to scripture throughout. He does not pretend to have all the answers and pleads for tolerance of different interpretations, as, for example, in 12.4.4-5: Cur ergo non accipiam informitatem materiae ... ita commode hominibus intima tam ut apellaretur 'terra invisibilis et incomposita', ut, cum in ea quaerit cogitatio quid sensus attingat ... dum sibi haec dicit humana cogitatio, conetur eam vel nosse ignorando vel ignorare noscendo? [I have no reason to doubt that the formlessness of matter ... is conveniently invisible and unorganised.' described for human minds in the words 'the earth In this matter thought seeks to grasp what perception has touched ... Human thinking employs words in this way; but its attempts are either a knowing which is aware of what is not knowable or an ignorance based on knowledge]. He also takes pains to confess how difficult he himself found these concepts at first, but this difficulty (as we know from books 3 to 7 of the Confessions) is one that is particularly acute for someone thinking in Manichean terms. The statement in 12.6.6, for example, may thus function simultaneously as confession, consolation and captatio benevo/entiae: 216 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Si vel/em prorsus informe cogitare et non poteram [... if I wished to conceive the absolutely formless. I could not achieve this]. Yet, a number of elements that are obviously (anti-) Manichean are present in the narrative and it is clear that an awareness of this segment of the audience has not slipped from Augustine's mind.33 Thus we have in 12.3.3 Augustine's explanations of the concepts tenebrae and terra invisibilis et incomposita from Gen 1:2 in terms that clearly echo aspects of Manichean cosmogony and arguments between them and Augustine on what matter is:34 Tenebrae ... quid aliud quam lucis absentia ... quid erat adesse tenebras nisi abesse tenebras ... nonne tu, domine, docuisti hanc animam quae fibi confitetur? nonne tu, domine, docuisti me quod, priusquam istam informem materiam formares ... non erat aliquid absence of light non tamen omnino nihil [... darkness ... this simply means the Where, then, light did not yet exist, the presence of darkness was the lack of light ... Is it not you, Lord, who instructed the soul which is making confession to you? Do I not owe to you the insight that before you gave form and particularity to that 'unformed matter' (Wisd. 11:18), there was nothing ... Yet it was not absolute nothingness]; and in 12.6.6: Ego vero, domine, si totum confitear ... quidquid de ista materia docuisti me, cuius antea nomen audiens et non intel/egens, narrantibus mihi eis qui non intel/egerent [If I am to confess ... everything you have taught me about this question of matter, the truth is that earlier in life I heard the word but did not understand it, and those who spoke to me about it (the Manichees) did not understand it either]. Also Augustine's insistence in 12.7.7 that God created ex nihilo and that creation is not emanation resulting in creatures carrying elements of the divine within themselves makes a specific anti-Manichean point: In principio, quod est de te, in sapientia tua, quae nata est de substantia tua, fecisti aliquid et de nihilo. fecisti enim caelum et terram non de te [In the beginning, that is The instances named here are those referred to by O'Donnell (1992, 3:300-342). A careful comparison of the text of book 12 with available Manichean literature will probably reveal more references or echoes that would have had special meaning to a Manichean reader. 33 See also O'Donnell's remarks on 12.6.6 where the differences between Augustine's and the Manichean view of materia are discussed. 34 217 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za from yourself, in your wisdom which is begotten of your substance, you made something and made it out of nothing. For you made heaven and earth not out of your own self]. In 12.11.14 we have a clear reference to Manichean error, reminiscent of the description of the Manicheans in 3.6.10: Nescio quid informe in istis mutationibus rerum extrema rum atque infimarum, et quis dicet mihi, nisi quisquis per inania cordis sui cum suis phantasmatis vagatur et vo/vitur, quis nisi ta/is dicet mihi quod ... [There is an inexpressible formlessness in the changes undergone by the lowest and most inferior creatures. Only a person whose empty heart makes his mind roll and reel with private fantasies would try to tell me ... ]; while 12.14.17 at the opening of the section on methodology reminds strongly of 9.4.8-11 both in choice of words and in the urgent tone perceptible here: Odi hostes eius vehementer: 0 si occidas eos de g/adio bis acuto, et non sint hostes eius! sic enim amo eos occidi sibi, ut vivant tibi [Scripture's enemies I vehemently hate (Ps 138:22). I wish that you would slay them with a two-edged sword (Ps 149:6); then they would no longer be its enemies. The sense in which I wish them 'dead' is this: I love them that they may die to themselves and live to you (Rom. 14:7-8; Cor. 5:14-15)]. The opening sentence of 12.16.23 stating the intention to speak with those who agree with Augustine (qui haec omnia ... vera esse concedunt) is followed by a long praeteritio, which clearly refers to the Manicheans (tatrare is also used to refer to himself as a Manichean in book 9) and includes some protreptic statements: Qui haec negant, /atrent quantum vo/unt et obstrepant sibi: persuadere conabor ut quiescant et viam praebeant ad se verbo tuo ... et dimiftam eos foris sufflantes in pu/verem et excitantes terram in ocu/os suos, et intrem in cubi/e meum et cantem tibi amatoria [Those who deny them may bark as much as they like and by their shouting discredit themselves. I will try to persuade them to be quiet and to allow your word to find a way to them ... I will leave my critics gasping in the dust, and blowing the soil up into their eyes. I will 'enter my chamber' (Matt 6:6) and will sing you songs of love]. We have further allusions to Manichean issues in 12.26.36 where the term massa (used by the Manicheans to refers to human solidarity in sin, O'Donnell 1992, 3:335) occurs: 218 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Ex eadem namque massa omnes venimus [We all come 'from the same lump' (Rom. 9:21)]; and in 12.27.37 with its references to a materialistic way of thinking, typical of this group: Alii enim cum haec verba legunt vel audiunt, cogitant deum, quasi hominem aut quasi aliquam molem immensa praeditam potestate novo quodam et repentino placito extra se ipsam tamquam locis distantibus, fecisse caelum et terram [When they read or hear these texts, some people think of God as if he were a human being or a power immanent in a vast mass which, by some new and sudden decision external to itself, as if located in remote places, made heaven and earth]. Let us now take a closer look at paragraphs 10 to 14 that I have referred to above. What is striking about this passage at first sight is the heightened emotional tone created by the repetitive, almost refrain-like opening and closing formulations of each of the three central paragraphs of the above-mentioned section, paragraphs 11 to 13. The opening phrase, repeated three times, is: lam dixisti mihi, domine voce forti in aurem interiorem [Already you have said to me, Lord, with a loud voice in my inner ear]; while the closing phrase, also occurring thrice, states: Hoc in conspectu tuo claret mihi et magis magisque clarescat, oro te, atque in ea manifestatione persistam sobrius sub alis tuis [Let it become more and more evident, I pray you, and as it becomes manifest may I dwell calmly under your wings]. The subjects of the first two of the central paragraphs (11 and 12) are issues on which we know that Augustine was anxious to convince the Manicheans of their errors: God's relation to time and eternity, the immutability of his will, and God as the good creator who created everything good. The second of these paragraphs emphasizes that nothing is co-eternal with God, that he created everything (omnes naturas atque substantias). The implication is clear: there is no alia natura, as the Manicheans suggested, responsible for man's sin and not created by God. The third of the central paragraphs (13) is dedicated to the main subject under discussion in this stage of the "exegesis", the caelum caeli seen here as an intellectual creature created before time was created (see 12.9.9). The paragraph is introduced and concluded by the same phrases as the previous two paragraphs, clearly illustrating the coherence of this section. 219 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za If we add to this information the fact that the concluding paragraph of this section (14) clearly echoes the description of the Manicheans in 3.6.10 while it touches on the subjects of time and mutability, it becomes obvious that the whole passage has the Manichean reader in mind and that the matter of convincing him is very urgent indeed: we have to deduce that it is very often the thought of Manichean error that brings Augustine to the point of emotionality displayed here (as is the case in book 9 where he speaks to them about Ps 4). Augustine here tries to add to the power of pure logic by the repeated emotional claim that God, Truth Himself (0 veritas in 12.10.10), has inspired him with the knowledge he imparts here (iam dixisti mihi, domine ... item dixisti mihi, domine ... item dixisti mihi ... voce forti in aurem interiorem). It is this analysis of paragraphs 11 to 14 that provides perhaps the strongest argument to see the tumultus impacatorum in the introductory paragraph of this passage (paragraph 10) as a reference to the Manlcheans." If, against this background, we read the ista in defluxi ad ista as referring back to the issues of in the previous paragraph (formless matter and eternity), and thus as a reference to Augustine's preoccupation under influence of the Manicheans with material things and trick questions about time, it provides an additional argument for this position. To quote this section (paragraphs 10 to 14) in full would take up too much space, but this is one of those instances where no amount of descriptive words can explain the emotional power of the passage with the same force that a reading of Augustine's words themselves would. I quote only the first paragraph of the section (paragraph 10), the one displaying the most intense emotion, and the one warning the reader of the importance of what is to follow: o veritas, lumen cordis mei, non tenebrae meae loquantur mihi! defluxi ad ista et obscuratus sum, sed hinc, etiam hinc adamavi te. erravi et recordatus sum tui. audivi covem tuam post me, ut redirem, et vix audivi propter tumultus impacatorum. et nunc ecce redeo aestuans et anhelans ad fontem tuum. nemo me prohibeat: hunc bibam et hinc vivam. non ego vita mea sim: male vixi ex me. mors mihi fui: in te revivesco. tu me al/oquere, tu mihi sermocinare: credidi libris tuis, et verba eorum arcane valde [May the truth, the light of my heart, not my darkness, speak to me. I slipped down into the dark and was plunged into obscurity. Yet from there, even from there I loved you. 'I erred and I remembered you' (Ps 118:176). 'I heard your 35 See O'Donnell 1992, 312 for other suggestions on tumultus impacatorum. 220 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za voice behind me' (Ezek. 3:12) calling me to return. And I could hardly hear because of the hubbub of people who know no peace. Now, see, I am returning hot and panting to your spring. Let no one stand in my path. Let me drink this and live by it. May I not be my own life. On my own resources I lived evilly. To myself I was death. In you I am recovering life. Speak to me, instruct me, I have put faith in your books. And their words are mysteries indeed]. It is passages like this one (paragraphs 10 to 14) that make me hesitate to use the term exegesis to refer to the concluding books of the Confessions. It is, like the reading of Ps 4, much more a meditation or a sermon than the theoretical thesis the term exegesis connotes. Of course, the word exegesis is not totally inapplicable. But to use it as an unqualified epithet to describe books 11 to 13 of the Confessions may create a distorted perception of what these books actually aim to do, and, more importantly, of how they may be understood as part of the organic whole. c. In Book 13 My task of arguing that book 13 continues the themes prepared in books 11 and 12 and targets especially a Manichean audience in order to bring them to the point of conversion is simplified to a great extent by Joubert's article (1992, 77-117). She shows how the themes of book 13 are clearly foreshadowed in the early books of the work and how books 11 and 12 have the function of providing the groundwork for the arguments presented in book 13. The argumentation around the more difficult fundamental theoretical issues, namely the creatio ex nihilo, the characteristics of God as creator of the whole universe, the issue of temporality, the theory on matter and lastly the theoretical considerations issue of interpretation itself, are concerns that form the basis surrounding the for the allegorical interpretation offered in book 13 and that have to be clarified before the presentation of that at which the whole of the Confessions is aimed. Joubert argues, as I have indicated in chapter 1, that the aim of the Confessions as a whole is to convert Augustine's erstwhile friends (both Manicheans and Neo-Platonists) and that book 13 is the fitting end to the work, embodying this goal. The most important elements in this book that Joubert identifies as designed specifically to reach the Manicheans are (a) the emphasis on the theme of God's goodness, used as a structuring principle at the opening and the close of the book (1992, 91); (b) the effort to redeem the Old Testament in the eyes of his (Manichean) readers by showing how it can most satisfactorily pervasive be interpreted use of terms, concepts allegorically (1992, 93 and 102-103); and realities familiar 221 and (c) the to the Manicheans that are Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za nevertheless given their proper Christian content (1992,91-94). As far as this last category is concerned Joubert shows convincingly how the use of the themes of light and darkness, the emphasis on the idea of the ascent of the soul so prominent in Manichean thinking and on the fact that the body is not part of an alia natura but created good by God while the soul is not divine are all designed to address a Manichean audience in a very effective way. She illustrates convincingly how Augustine's insistence on the spiritual nature of the ascent of the soul drawn to God by the Holy Spirit and by Love, while still using terms and categories familiar to the Manicheans, is designed to replace their materialistic thinking in terms of liberated light particles physically received by the sun and the moon. Also Augustine's arguments about the creation of the world in two stages, his emphasis on the absolute transcendence of God, on caritas (a concept foreign to Manichean dogma) and on the influence of the Holy Spirit that is a gift from God, are designed to eliminate Manichean error; in Joubert's words (1992,94): Tout se passé comme s'il voulait d'abord séduire les manichéens en parlant leur langage. Cependant, loin de céder attention a leur theories, il profite au contraire de leur pour faire passer dans son discours les theses qu'il veut leur faire accepter. It is clear then, that also the last book of the Confessions targets its Manichean audience in a particularly effective way. I am convinced, and would argue more strongly than Joubert, that one of the main aims of the meditation on Genesis in books 11 and 12 and particularly of the allegorical interpretation offered in book 13, is to redeem this text (and together with it the whole of the Old Testament and all of the New Testament)" in the eyes of the Manicheans. Let us look at the last section of the allegory that, as I have indicated, forms the basis for my arguments about Augustine's Manichean audience in this last chapter of the dissertation, paragraphs 32 to 49. Although the canon of the Bible was not fixed by the time the Confessions was published, all the books Augustine refers to in this section were eventually accepted as part of the canon. 36 222 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za 5.4 The Manichean Audience of the Allegory in Book13 To facilitate the presentation of my arguments I repeat here the schematic analysis of the allegory already given in chapter 4.6: Section Subsection Paragraphs Theme A. Paraenetic (i) 13-15 Hope in spite of present imperfect conditions (ii) 16-19 Value and authority of Scripture (iii) 20-25 Exhortation to bear fruit (iv) 26-31 Value of the preaching and example of to members of the Church ministers B. Against (v) 32-34 Man in the image of God (vi) 35-37 A verse offensive to the Manicheans (vii) 3~2 Manichean eating rituals (viii) 43-49 Manichean views of creation Manichean dogma My identification of an important thematic articulation in the narrative between paragraphs 31 and 32, i.e. in the course of the interpretation of the sixth day of creation, needs some justification. The primary reason for this division is the move away from the consolatory sermon-like exhortations clearly aimed at the members of the Church towards a more polemical kind of argumentation increasingly targeting a Manichean audience. I detect in the paragraphs from 32 onwards the beginning of an indirect expression of concern with the Manichean audience that gathers in momentum from this point onwards to become explicit in the closing paragraphs both of the allegory and of the Confessions as a whole." This interpretation is supported by the fact that this is the stage where the creation of man is interpreted, and then the creation of man in the image of God, which does lift this part of the creation 37 223 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za It has become clear that two of the main tenets of Manicheism that Augustine has to deal with are their cosmogony and their anthropology. In the first part of the allegory (analysed in chapter 4) we have observed him adroitly removing the discussion of the creation story from the realm of cosmogony to the pastoral domain (Ries 1963, 212). In the second part of the allegory we see him eventually coming to grips with some aspects of Manichean anthropology (in sections v, vi and vii) and cosmogony (in section viii) after all. The Genesis verses that now come under discussion touch the nerve of a number of issues from these domains, issues of central importance and on which major differences existed between Manichean and Catholic views: the Manicheans (like Augustine at an earlier stage) maintained that the Catholic acceptance of the phrase ad imaginem dei (the subject of section v) was proof of the anthropomorphic views they accused them of holding; the phrase crescite et multiplicamini (the subject of section vi) as a command to humans was particularly offensive to the Manicheans and totally irreconcilable with a pessimistic view of man that prohibited procreation; the Old Testament version of a creation that was totally good (the subject of section viii) also stood in direct opposition to their fundamentally dualistic worldview. The tour de force of this part of the allegory is, however, the use of the less offensive verse 29 as a springboard for a lengthy and carefully constructed argument against the eating ritual of the Manichean elect (see my arguments below). In this second section of the allegorical reading of Genesis where we may have expected the consolatory exhortations to move inexorably on to the idea of apocalyptic eternal rest, we find the pastoral tone of the previous paragraphs gradually making place once again for a more polemical (O'Donnell approach, though 1992, 3:408). Augustine still not what I would call "Manichee-bashing" argues patiently and laboriously, often with great emotion, but the aim clearly remains "to heal heretics" rather than "to destroy them." The fact that the last issue the monumental Confessions focuses on is the elimination Manichean error constitutes one of the strongest foundations of for my argument that the work may be primarily intended as a subtle protreptic aimed at a Manichean audience. Let us examine these closing paragraphs of the Confessions. 5.4.1 Section (v): Man in the Image of God (paragraphs 32 to 34) Although paragraphs 32 to 34 start by putting on the table the issue of the differences between Manichean and Catholic anthropology, this section serves more as a bridge process to an entirely new level, although the events are still part of the events of the sixth day of creation. 224 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za between the first and second parts of the allegory and a preparation of the reader for what follows than a polemic on the issue of the nature of man. Still, it is clear that a whole nexus of problems and arguments that were points of debate between Augustine and the Manicheans is on the table here:" "the treatment here is brief and suggestive, and conceals complex doctrinal development" (O'Donnell 1992, 395). Where paragraph 31 discussed the interdependency of men, paragraph 32 emphasizes the autonomy of man: the ultimate meaning of being created in the image of God is receiving the capacity to understand eternal Truths: mente quippe renovatus et conspiciens intel/ectum veritatem tuam homine demonstratore non indiget ut suum genus imitetur, sed te demonstrante probat ipse quae sit voluntas tua, quod bonum et beneplacitum et perfectum, et doces eum iam capacem videre trinitatem unitatis vel unitatem trinitatis [The person whose renewal is in the mind and who contemplates and understands your truth, needs no human to 'prove' it, imitating the example of humankind but, as you show, he 'proves what your will is, which is a thing good and well-pleasing and perfect.' Because such a person now has the capacity, you teach him to see the Trinity of the Unity and the Unity of the Trinity). Augustine emphatically declares, adducing the authority of Paul, that now man does not need other men to mediate between him and God. Once he has been "renewed in the newness of his mind," he can know the will of God directly. In paragraphs 33-34, however, we learn that, in spite of the privileged position occupied by man in relation to God, and in spite of the amount of authority over the whole of creation that he is said to receive in Gen 1, he does not have the authority to judge the spiritual state of other men. He cannot decide who must be classified as spiritales and who as camales, nor can he judge who is excluded by God's grace (foris) and who is not. The affirmation of man's ability to know the will of God functions, like many other devices in the Confessions, as a validation of the insights presented in the following paragraphs. Founded as it is on the authority of Paul, "the apostle of the Manichees," it is designed to It is interesting to note, though, that even before Augustine introduces the part of Gen. 1:26 under discussion in this paragraph (et dixit deus, 'ecce faciamus hominem ad imaginem et similitudinem nostram) he quotes a verse from Romans 12:2 'nolite conformari huic saeculo, sed reformamini in novitate mentis vestrae.' This must immediately have put on the table for any Manichean reader the Manichean understanding of anthropology, namely that "there are two men in each person" of which only the "inner, heavenly and new man ... is formed by God according to his own image" (Bammel 1993, 6) and the different views held by Augustine and the Catholics. 38 225 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za carry special weight with Manichean readers. Also the insistence on man's inability to judge the spiritual condition of his fellow men has the additional effect of assuring the reader that Augustine does not assume to judge him, while at the same time it contains a warning that God does judge (note also once again the probes in the direction of the Manicheans on the point of man's proper relation to scripture): Spiritales ergo ... spiritaliter iudicant, non de cognitionibus spiritalibus ... neque de ipso libro tuo, etiam si quid ibi non lucet, quoniam summittimus ei nostrum intel/ectum certumque habemus etiam quod clausum est aspectibus nostris recte veraciterque dictum esse ... (sic enim homo, licet iam spiritalis et renovatus ... factor tamen legis debet esse, non iudex); neque de ilia distinctione iudicat, spiritalium videlicet atque carnalium hominum, qui tuis, deus noster, oculis noti sunt et nullis adhuc nobis apparuerunt operibus ut ex fructibus eorum cognoscamus eos, sed tu, domine, iam seis eos et divisisti et vocasti inocculto antequam fieret firmamentum; neque de turbidis huius saeculi populis ... homo iudicat [So spiritual persons ... exercise spiritual judgement. They do not judge those spiritual intelligences ... Nor do they sit in judgement on your book, even if there is obscurity there. We submit our intellect to it, and hold it for certain that even language closed to our comprehension is right and true. Even a person who is spiritual ... has to be 'a doer of the law' (Jas. 4:11), not its critic. Nor does he judge which persons are spiritual and which carnal. They are known to your eyes, our God. To us no works have as yet appeared so that we can know them by their fruits. Yet you, Lord, already know them and have made a division. You called them in secret before the firmament was made. The spiritual person does not judge the storm-tossed peoples of this world]. 5.4.2 Section (vi): A Verse Offensive to the Manicheans (paragraphs 35 to 37) Paragraphs 35 to 37 of book 13 are dedicated to a laborious interpretation of the phrase crescite et multi plica mini et inplete terram in Gen 1:28. Although there is little explicit indication of this in the text of the Confessions, it must be clear that this thoughtful analysis offered in an attitude of humility cannot but be designed to argue with the Manicheans. In this instance we have clear evidence that the issue was a point of discussion between them and Augustine: "This particular command offended the Manichees. Secundinus found it evidence of the barbarity of mores among the Jews" (O'Donnell 1992, 3:399). Thus, this was certainly another of those aspects of the Genesis narrative that Augustine 226 had to Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za explain in a way acceptable to the Manicheans if he hoped to succeed in convincing them of the value and validity of this text and the whole of the Old Testament. Paragraph 35 consists almost entirely of those interpretations of the phrase crescite et mu/tip/icamini et inp/ete terram that Augustine has to discard: Sed quid est hoc et qua/e mysterium est? ... dicerem ... dicerem ... item dicerem . [But what is this text about, and what kind of a mystery is it? ... I might say that 1 might say ... I might further say that ... ]. We are made aware of the fact that Augustine does not go over this section lightly, that he finds it difficult to interpret. Also in paragraph 36 we are reminded of the fact that Augustine has to dig deep to find answers: Quid igitur dicam? The point he makes directly after this is almost certainly aimed at Manichean criticism of scripture: Quid igitur dicam, lumen meum, veritas? quia vacat hoc, quia ina niter ita dictum est? nequaquam ... absit ut hoc dicat servus verbi tui. et si ego non intel/ego quid hoc e/oquio significes, utantur eo melius me/iores, id est intel/egentiores quam ego sum ... p/aceat autem et confessio mea coram ocu/is tuis, qua tibi confiteor credere me, domine, non incassum te ita /ocutum [What then shall I say, truth my light? That there is no special significance in this, and the text is empty of meaning? No indeed ... be it far from a servant of your word to say this. And if I fail to understand what you intend by this utterance, let better interpreters, that is more intelligent than I, offer a better exegesis ... But let my confession also be pleasing before your eyes. I confess myself to believe, Lord, that you have not so spoken without a special intention]. Augustine's humility here is a practical illustration of a point he has made in book 3.5.9 (video rem non compertam superbis neque nudatam pueris, sed incessu humi/em, successu exce/sam et ve/atam mysteriis [And this is what met me: something neither open to the proud nor laid bare to mere children; a text lowly to the beginner but, on further reading, of mountainous difficulty and enveloped in mysteries]) and has repeated shortly before in paragraph 33 (homo ... factor tamen legis debet esse, non iudex). If man finds something in scripture that he does not understand he should assume that he himself is at fault, rather than divina scriptura. This is clearly a finger pointed at the Manicheans who made their own reason the norm by which the acceptability scripture was measured. 227 of the various sections of Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za It is only in paragraph 37 that Augustine's positive allegorical interpretation of the phrase crescite et multi plica mini is presented. The allegory, in its recapitulation of almost all the elements of Gen 1, becomes in the last instance a "higher-order" allegory, that I cannot describe any better than O'Donnell (1992, 3: 400) does: The result is a higher-order allegorical interpretation: it applies to the essential business of the church, giving body to the presence of the word of God: in the waters, through the multiplication of signs; in the children of this age, through the multiplication of interpretations. What we have here is a practical illustration of how a particular verse, taken ad litteram, "kills" the interpreter, while the figurative interpretation makes a profound and acceptable statement about the very essence of the role of the Church on earth, and thus testifies to the validity of the verse or section of scripture. Augustine is applying to his readers the medicine that he knows healed him. 5.4.3 Section (vii): Manichean Eating Rituals (paragraphs 38 to 42) Paragraph 38 introduces Augustine's transition to the next section of scripture up for analysis, Gen 1:29-30, the passage where God ordains that man and animals may eat certain fruits and plants. Augustine's allegorical interpretation of these verses is a tour de force that turns what seems a bleak narrative detail into a powerful argument against one of the central rituals of the Manichean religion, the provision of food to the elect by the auditors. Joubert's short paragraph (1992, 93) refers to the references in book 13.26.39-40 as criticism of the feeding of the Manichean elect, and calls it "la réussite la plus flagrante d'Augustin." I argue that it is in fact the whole section of which paragraphs 39 and 40 form the heart (paragraphs 38 to 42, two pages in the O'Donnell edition) that argues against this Manichean ritual. The fact that Augustine starts paragraph 38 with five and a half lines of affirming the authority of what he is about to say before he introduces Gen 1:29-30, is also an indication the importance the subject matter presented here holds for him: Volo etiam dicere, domine deus meus, quod me consequens tua scriptura commonet, et dicam nec verebor. veram enim dicam te mihi inspirante, quod ex eis verbis voluisti ut dicerem. neque enim alio praeter te inspirante credo me verum dicere, cum tu sis veritas, omnis autem homo mendax, et ideo qui loquitur mendacium, de suo loquitur. ergo ut verum loquar, de tuo loquor [Lord, my God, I 228 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za also want to declare what the following text of your scripture suggests to me, and I will say it without fear. With you inspiring me I shall be affirming true things, which by your will I draw out of those words. For I do not believe I give a true exposition if anyone other than you is inspiring me. You are the truth but every man is a liar (Ps 115: 11; Rom. 3:4). That is why 'he who speaks a lie speaks from himself (John 8:44). Therefore I depend on you to enable me to speak the truth]. This is followed by a lengthy quotation of the Genesis verses, followed in turn by a reference to the earlier stage in the allegory where the bearing of fruit was compared to the good deeds of men. The argument starts in the last part of paragraph 38 with the citation of two instances of Paul being pleased with the donations provided for him by members of some of the congregations (from 2 Tim 1:16 and 2 Cor 11:9-10) but also an instance of how upset he was when no aid was forthcoming (2 Tim 4: 16-17), because, says Augustine, these donations are the due of those preaching God's word. Paragraph 39 opens with two sentences that already contain the essence of where the main thrust of the interpretation of Paul's words in this whole section will lead to: the receiver of the donation is not fed by what he receives but by his delight in the spirit in which it was given, and it is not the fact that people give that constitutes the spiritual fruit they bear, but the right moral motivation for the gift: Pascuntur autem his escis qui laetantur eis, nec il/i laetantur eis, quorum deus venter. neque enim et in iI/is qui praebent ista, ea quae dant fructus est, sed quo animo dant [Those who enjoy these foods are fed by them; but those 'whose god is their belly' (Phil. 3: 19) derive no pleasure from them. But in those who provide the food, the fruit lies not in what they give but the spirit with which they give it]. Can we be sure that reading this passage as an argument against Manichean eating rituals is not over interpretation? First, it is conceivable that the Manicheans used the example of Paul and his many statements on the subject of the material support required from congregations as a validation of the ritual of the auditors providing the food the elect ate in order to liberate the divine particles contained in these foodstuffs." Secondly, let us look at the phrase quorum deus venter that forms part of the introduction to this section. I contend that a closer scrutiny of the context this phrase alludes to and of the section in book 3 where Augustine 39 describes the eating ritual of the Manichean elect, provides a strong See Van Oort (2002, 26) on the probability of Augustine regularly partaking in this ritual. 229 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za indication that Augustine's readers may have recognized the phrase as a direct reference to this ritual. In Phil 3:18-19 Paul exhorts his reader to follow his example and to beware of being ruled by the flesh: Multi enim ambulant, quos saepe dicebam vobis, nunc autem et flens dico, inimicos crucis Christi: quorum finis interitus, quorum deus venter, et gloria in confusione ipsorum, qui terrena sapient [For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly thinqs.]" We may guess that Augustine would have found much in these verses that reminded him of the Manicheans. The phrase inimicos crucis Christi aptly describes their beliefs about Christ's life and crucifixion (that his body was a pseudo-body and that his death on the cross was only an apparent death). Further, the eating ritual of the elect came very close to literally making the stomachs of this group their god, as a look at Augustine's remarks in book 3:10.18 shows: Et quid age bam cum inridebam eos [sc. sanctos servos et prophetas tuos], nisi ut inriderer abs te ... perductus ad eas nugas ut crederem ficum plorare cum decerpitur ... ? quam tamen ficum si comedisset aliquis sanctus, alieno sane non suo scelere decerptam, misceret visceribus et anhelaret de ilia angelos. immo vero parliculas dei gemendo in oratione atgue ructando. quae parliculae summi et veri dei ligatae fuissent in iIIo pomo. nisi electi sancti dente ac ventre solverentur [I was ignorant of these principles and laughed at your holy servants and prophets. By my mockery I only achieved the result that I became ridiculous to you. Gradually and unconsciously I was led to the absurd trivialities of believing that a fig weeps when it is picked, and that the fig tree its mother sheds milky tears. Yet if some (Manichee) saint ate it, provided that the sin of picking it was done not by his own hand but by another's, then he would digest it in his stomach and as a result would breathe out angels, or rather as groaned in prayer and retched he would bring up bits of God. These bits of the most high and true God would have remained chained in that fruit, if they had not been liberated by the tooth and belly of that elect saint]. 40 All translations of quotations from the Bible are from the New Revised Standard Version (1989) 230 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za But, most significantly, Augustine has earlier in the Confessions (5.8.14) used a close variant of the phrase terrena sapiunt in what is certainly a reference to the Manicheans if we take into account the role this group played in promoting Augustine's career, not only in Rome, but also as far as the move to Milan was concerned: Nam et qui perturbabant otium meum foeda rabie caeci erant, et qui invitabant ad aliud terram sapiebant [For those who disturbed my serenity were blinded with a disgraceful frenzy. Those who invited me to go elsewhere had a taste only for this earth]. It is also important to realize that the section from paragraph 39 up to the beginning of paragraph 41 is no explanation of the Genesis text but in fact a laborious interpretation of Paul's views on the subject of material support (based on passages from various letters), an interpretation that refutes any claims the Manicheans may have derived from these texts for the legitimacy of their ritual and that exposes the respects in which this ritual is open to criticism. It is clearly Augustine's aim here to demonstrate that, even though material support is the due of God's ministers, this is not at all the point that Paul intends to bring across. He interprets Paul's statements to show that the latter is chiefly interested in the spiritual health of those giving gifts and not in the gifts themselves. What we read, for example, in paragraph 41 represents the total opposite of what the Manichean ritual was about: Ipse sequitur dicens: non quia quaero datum, sed requiro fructum. didici a te, deus meus, inter datum et fructum discernere. datum est res ipsa, quam dat ... fructus autem bona et recta voluntas datoris est [He goes on to say: 'Not that I seek a gift but I look for fruit.' From you, my God, I have learnt to distinguish between gift and fruit. A gift is the object given ... Fruit, however, is the good and right will of the giver]. Paragraph 42 concludes this section with a quick recapitulation of the preceding arguments and an explanation of the last phrase Augustine had added to the quotation of Gen 1:30 at the opening of paragraph 38 (piscibus autem et cetis magnis non dedisti haec). That section (vii) as a whole treats matters of a high priority to Augustine is indicated by the length of the passage as well as by its heightened emotional tone. This tone is created by the repetitive nature of the prose (paragraphs 39 to 41 are characterized by the insistent repetition of forms of gaudere and pascere) and especially by the direct apostrophe of Paul in paragraph 40. Both of these aspects are illustrated in the following quotation, as well as the degree to which Paul (as I have argued above) has become not only a quoted author in 231 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za the text but a also a character with an important role to playas a figure of authority and an example to follow (note also, how in passages like this, the prayer stance recedes temporarily in favour of a more argumentative style): Unde ergo gaudes, 0 Paule magne? unde gaudes, unde pasceris, homo renovate in agnitione dei secundum imaginem eius qui creavit te, et anima viva tanta continentia et lingua vo/atilis /oquens mysteria? talibus quippe animantibus ista esca debetur. Quid est quod te pascit, /aetita. quod sequitur audiam: 'verum tamen, , inquit, 'bene fecistis communicantes tribu/ationi meae.' hinc gaudet, hinc pascitur, quia illi bene fecerunt, non quia eius angustia re/axata est [What then is the reason for your rejoicing, great Paul? Why your joy? Where do you find your nourishment? You are a man 'renewed in the knowledge of God after the image of Him who created you' (Col. 3:10) a 'living soul' of great continence, a tongue which flies like the birds as it proclaims mysteries. It is indeed to such living souls that this food is due. What then is it which gives you nourishment? Joy. Let me hear what follows: Nevertheless,' taking a share in my tribulations' he says, 'you did well in (Phil 4:14). The ground for his joy and for his nourishment is that the Philippians had acted well, not that his trouble was relieved.]. 5.4.4 Section (viii): Manichean Views of Creation (paragraphs 43 to 49) Let us move on to the last part of the allegory. In paragraphs 43 to 49 we have the last section of the explanation of the sixth day of creation, a meditation on the words of Gen 1:31 (looking back on the all that God has created: et vidit deus omnia quae fecit et ecce bona va/de).41 In paragraph 43 the phrase repeatedly applied in Genesis to the various objects created (et vidit deus quia bonum est) is replaced with an all-encompassing omnia quae fecit and the addition of va/de. The section is held together as a thematic unit by the fact that Gen 1:31 remains on the table throughout, but also more explicitly by the frequent repetition of omnia bona va/de and even more frequently of the different forms of videre. The whole section emphasizes the goodness of creation throughout. It recapitulates on the issue of time in paragraphs 44, 46, 47 (that also contains a first recapitulation of the whole of the preceding allegory), and 49. Thus we have, for example in paragraph 44: O'Donnell sees this as two separate sections, 13.28.43-13.30.45 as a section against the Manichees (also forming the last subsection of the interpretation of the sixth day of creation), and 13.31.46-13.34.49 as a summary of the exegesis. 41 232 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Ad haec tu dicis mihi ... '0 homo, nempe quod scriptura mea dicit, ego dico. Et tamen ilia temporaliter dicit, verbo autem meo tempus non accedit, quia aequali mecum aeternitate consistit' [To this you replied to me ... '0 man, what my scripture says, I say. Yet scripture speaks in time-conditioned language, and time does not touch my Word, existing with me in an equal eternity']. The passage also implicitly and explicitly targets Manichean beliefs about creation, explicitly in paragraphs 45 and 48, and implicitly throughout this section. In paragraph 45 we have a reference to different (erroneous) views of creation but with special emphasis on Manichean error: Et intel/exi quoniam sunt quidam quibus displicent opera tua, et multa eorum dicunt te fecisse necessitate compulsum ... et hoc non de tuo, sed iam fuisse alibi creata et aliunde ... cum de hostibus victis mundane moenia molireris, ut ea constructione devincti adversus te iterum rebel/are non possent; alia vero nec fecisse te nec omnino compegisse ... sed hostilem mentem naturamque aliam non abs te conditam tibique contrariam in inferioribus mundi locis ista gignere atque formare. insani dicunt haec, quoniam non per spiritum tuum vident opera tua nec te cognoscunt in eis [ ... and I understood. There are people [Manichees] who are displeased at your works. They say you made many of them ... under the compulsion of necessity. They say you did not produce the creation from your own matter, but that its elements were already created elsewhere by another power ... when, after defeating your enemies, you built the ramparts of the world so that they would be held in check by that construction and unable to fight against you again ... They claim that in the lower places of the world those things are generated and formed by a hostile mind and an alien nature, not created by you but opposed to you. This is the utterance of madmen. They do not see your works with the help of your Spirit and do not recognize you in them].42 Paragraph 48 insists on the creation ex nihilo (a passage already quoted above) and also touches on Manichean ideas about predestination (O'Donnell 1992, 3:413). The subsection is concluded by paragraph 49 that is, now for the second time, a recapitulation of the allegory as a whole in terms of the phrase et vidit deus omnia quae fecit et ecce bona valde. That the whole of section (viii) is aimed particularly at a Manichean audience (with its belief in a fundamentally dualistic universe) is clear enough to 42 This is the one passage that does come near to "Manichee-bashing." 233 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za make further argumentation on my part superfluous: O'Donnell (1992, 3:343), for example, who does not remark on the (anti-)Manichean passage 13.28.43-13.30.45 content in the previous sections, gives the the title, "'And God saw that it was very good' (against the Mancihees). " Before I conclude this chapter, let us take a look at the end of the Confessions (paragraphs 50 to 53) to see how different strands that I have followed throughout this multidimensional work are tied up at its end, remaining aware of the many strands that I have not paid any attention to. Augustine very aptly bases the conclusion to his Confessions on Gen 2:1-2, which concludes the creation narrative with its description seventh day after everything had been completed, of how God rested on the providing at last the eschatological perspective which is the natural goal of an allegory based on the hexameron. This verse, as O'Donnell (1992, 3:418) points out, is not interpreted directly, but it forms the subtext of all that is said in these closing paragraphs with their eschatological orientation. The conclusion to the Confessions starts with a prayer for peace. Its opening sentence recalls the tortured prayer of the prologue (da mihi, domine, scire et intellegere utrum sit prius incovare te an laudare te, et scire te prius sit an invocare te, and what followed) in the verbal echoes and in the contrast of its simplicity: Domine deus, pacem da nobis (omnia enim praestitisti nobis), pacem quietis, pacem sabbati, pacem sine vespera ['Lord, grant us peace; for you have given us all things' (Isa. 26:12), the peace of quietness, the peace of the Sabbath, a peace with no evening (2 Thess. 3: 16)]. The labyrinthine intellectual quest and the accompanying urgent effort to convince the reader of the validity of its points, all the Sturm und Orang have been replaced by an emphasis on requies. The work ends with a last allusion to Matt 7:7 (a favourite with the Manicheans and a vehicle to indicate protreptic intent) in a statement that for me recapitulates the endeavour of the whole. Its last thought is dedicated to the reader Augustine has spent so much emotional energy on, with the acknowledgement and acceptance that he can do no more to persuade this reader, that only they themselves can find the answers with God Himself: Et hoc intellegere quis hominum dabit homini? quis angelus angelo? quis angelus homini? a te petatur, in te quaeratur, ad te pulsetur: sic, sic accipietur, sic invenietur, sic aperietur [What man can enable the human mind to understand this? Which angel can interpret it to an angel? What angel can help a human being to grasp it? Only you can be asked, only you can be begged, only on your door can 234 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za we knock (Matt 7:7). Yes indeed, that is how it is received, how it is found, how the door is opened]. I conclude this chapter with a few remarks on Augustine's allegorical interpretation aims and techniques of Genesis in general. First, when Augustine in the announces his project for the last three books, using the words olim inardesco meditari in lege tua, we must take him seriously. The allegory as a whole is described much more accurately by the term meditation, than by terms that carry connotations of a theoretical, orderly and focussed analysis of a particular text, terms like interpretation or exegesis. A careful reading of book 13 also reveals that, while the Genesis narrative provides a skeletal structure on which the allegory is based, what the reader is presented encompasses with much more than the reading of one section of scripture. This is indeed a meditation on divina scriptura as a whole, not only because the quotations and allusions range from Genesis and Exodus, Isaiah and the book of Psalms in the Old Testament to almost all the books of the New Testament, but also because it meditates on the very nature and function of scripture. Second, this meditation on divina scriptura consists of such a clever interweaving juxtaposition of texts from interspersed with Augustine's different sections and of the Old and the New Testament, own words, which he claims, are directly inspired by God (who is veritas and to whom every word is addressed), that it is often difficult to unravel the various individual strands. This has the powerful effect of making the reader perceive one message, coming now from the Old Testament, now from the New, in a persistent visible and audible illustration of the harmony between the two testaments. This affirms a fundamental truth about scripture that constitutes at the same time a persuasive argument against Manichean rejection of the Old Testament. If the contribution of Paul's voice to this message, through the quotation of Paul's writings, indeed through the representation of Paul as a character in the narrative, is taken into account, it must be clear that this section of the Confessions constitutes a defence of the Old Testament that the Manicheans would have had great difficulty to refute. 235 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za CONCLUSION The formulation of the topic for this dissertation had its origin in an unwillingness to accept that a master rhetorician who is at the same time one of the greatest thinkers of all times would write a work that violates one of the basic principles of composition, that of constructing a coherent whole, i.e. with the problem of the unity of the Confessions. I did not at any stage expect to find a miracle key that would unlock all the mysteries of such a multi-dimensional work, but I believe that what this dissertation presents does bring us a small step closer to a truer appreciation of the literary qualities of the work, including the coherence of its construction. My survey of the intimidating bibliography on the Confessions (in chapter 1) has convinced me that research on the literary devices of the work is one field where progress is relatively slow. What has been done is still far from adequate to enable the modern reader to fully understand how the Confessions functions as a literary work of art. This is largely due to the fact that, because classical philology has for the most of the previous century been focussed on other eras and other works, the bulk of research done on the Confessions is by specialists from non-literary fields, like theology or philosophy. Many of the literary devices used in the Confessions still need to be examined (e.g. the structuring function of Bible quotations from other books than the Psalms or a close comparison of the work to other Christian protreptics), each meriting a full-scale project. On the other hand, there exists the need for another study like that of Grotz in 1972 to draw together and evaluate all efforts to discover the unity of the work. This study must also incorporate an assessment of how research on isolated literary qualities of the work contributes to our understanding of the unity of the Confessions. This dissertation focuses on only two of the literary devices employed in the Confessions, namely the use of generic conventions particular audience and the targeting (through various means) of a in the work. It also examines only one aspect of each of these categories, namely the degree to which the work displays qualities of a specific genre (the ancient protreptic) and the degree to which it targets a specific segment of its audience (the Manicheans). Chapter 2 presents the theoretical and historical background to underpin the reading of selected passages from the Confessions proposed in chapters 3 to 5 of the dissertation. 236 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Much research still has to be done on the generic devices employed in the Confessions, e.g. a study of the utilization of conventions from genres other than the protreptic; a comparison of the work with other literary antecedents than the ones discussed here and in much more detail than was done here; or a comparison Augustine's Confessions of the work to the rest of oeuvre and the generic devices used there. Also on the audience of the a lot of work remains to be done, e.g. a more theoretical examination of exactly how the text communicates with and delineates its audience and of all the groups who constitute this audience; a closer co-operation with historians of religion to further illuminate the Manichean connotations of various concepts in the work; or more detailed comparisons between the Confessions and the available Manichean documents as well as between the Confessions and Augustine's anti-Manichean works. But the results of the research expounded in this dissertation have convinced me that the Confessions fundamental has a protreptic-paraenetic communicative purpose that is far more to the essence of the work than most scholars realize. Statements directly expressing protreptic intent occur frequently throughout the Confessions, and there are a number of factors that carry protreptic intent indirectly. In this last category I examined elements like the shifting persona of the narrator who at times speaks in the voice of the not-yet-converted in an effort to show the reader how to talk to God and how to proceed towards conversion; the important role played by references to Matt 7:7, which fulfil the double function of expressing protreptic intent (in its exhortation to seek and its assertion that those who seek will find) and carrying specific overtones for Manichean readers; and the occurrence of the theme of the protreptic power of reading in the Confessions (which I read as an instruction to the reader on how to read the text in hand). But it is the fact that a protreptic-paraenetic communicative work that constitutes fundamental the strongest communicative purpose is clearly present in the key sections of the argument for postulating purpose of the Confessions protreptic intent as a as a whole: in the opening paragraph which foreshadows the main themes of the work; in the central section with its pivotal function within the whole (especially in ancient works); as well as in the concluding paragraphs with their unifying function of tying up the individual strands of the narrative. Once the autobiographical section of the Confessions is described as a conversion story, it is easy to appreciate that it may have a protreptic aim. But if the last section of the work is conceived as exegesis a protreptic and/or paraenetic function is not what a modern reader would expect it to fulfil. Thus, the analysis of the allegory in book 13 rendered the most interesting results. The contents, the tone, and the allusions in this section, in short the sum of the literary devices employed here, have on the reader the effect of an exhortative 237 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za sermon much rather than that of a theoretical paraenetic communicative piece of exegesis. It has a protreptic- purpose which targets, moreover, both an already-converted Christian audience and (increasingly towards the end) a Manichean audience. Also as far as a Manichean intended audience for the Confessions as a whole is concerned I discovered a sustained preoccupation with this group that is not yet fully appreciated by the scholarly community. Once again I found it significant that allusions to this group occurred at the pivotal sections of the work, but especially that the end of the work is dominated by an unmistakeable last effort to convince the Manichean reader of his erroneous beliefs. What I found especially ingenious was the indirectness and the subtlety of the approach to the Manicheans: the initial concealment of protreptic intentions only gradually makes way for a more explicit targeting of Manichean beliefs, while the tone never becomes scathing enough to alienate this audience. In this manner Augustine employs the natural curiosity of man about other men to seduce the Manichean reader who may not have read the work if he knew that it meant to convert him to Catholicism. Also the poignant evocation of the joys of friendship is cleverly designed to touch a tender spot with Manichean readers: close circles of friends formed the core of Manichean social organization and under Augustine's influence many of his friends converted to Manicheism. The use of numerous categories and terms that had special significance for Manichean readers adds to the appeal the text is designed to make to this group. My research has opened up two very important perspectives on how the Confessions may be read. Let us turn to the second leg of the dissertation first. This line of enquiry revealed that looking at the text with an awareness of the added connotations many words and categories may have had for a Manichean reader or for any other reader familiar with these terms brings about an important change in perspective. Passages like the "digression" on time in book 11 and the allegorical interpretation of the creation story from Genesis take on a totally new aspect and their place within the whole becomes a completely different matter. Apart from the enhanced understanding of the Confessions this perspective brings about, this should caution the modern reader to even greater circumspection in the approach to ancient texts in general. It should sharpen our realisation that even the most thorough study of an ancient work, taking into account as much as possible of the background and the context within which the work functioned, may still not understand many of its devices. It is however my exploration of the possibility that the Confessions employs some of the devices of the (already Christianised) protreptic genre that provides the most important new way to view the unity of the work. I argue that an inability to escape from expectations 238 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za formed by modern perceptions lead researchers to ask the question that put research completely off track: why did Augustine add three books of exegesis to his autobiography? This formulation autobiography brings into play the totally invalid expectations associated with modern and makes readers experience the last section of the work as superfluous and perplexing. Calling the last part of the work exegesis also evokes connotations that do not do justice to the compelling exhortation that figures strongly in this section. The Confessions consists, like many of its literary antecedents already identified by Courcelle, of a conversion story with the ulterior purpose of preparing the reader for a more difficult theoretical section, which is argumentation with a protreptic purpose, supported by copious scriptural quotation. But in its subtlety and multi-layered character the Confessions superseded its antecedents to such an extent that later readers were unable to recognize antecedent generic practice in this work. Augustine's ingenious and intensely passionate effort to convert his reader to Christianity resulted in a disclosure of his innermost self so touching and a segment of his life-story told so compellingly that readers through the ages (but especially modern readers) became so fascinated by the man that they lost sight of what he was aiming at. But it is only a careless and selective reader that falls into this trap and fails to appreciate how the Confessions moves inexorably on in pursuit of its communicative aims. The last section of the work illuminates the reformation of the old man to become the new (or the Manichean to become the Catholic) parallel to the treatment of this theme in the first section of the work. The effort to convert continues in the same voice and is supported by the same relentless argumentation after the conversion story is brought to an end and when the issues of time, creation and the authority of scripture are treated. To conclude: it is not the compositional techniques of the Confessions that are inadequate. It is the ability of readers to appreciate the subtlety of these techniques that has diminished over centuries. And the fact that the Confessions has remained Augustine's most read work is proof that it is the work of a literary genius, one of the greatest thinkers of all times. 239 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za BIBLIOGRAPHY Translations and Texts of Primary Works Aurelius Augustinus, Sanctus. Contra Academicos, De Beata vita, De Ordine, De Magistro, De Libero Arbitrio. 1970. Edited by W.M. Green and K.O. Daur. Corpus Christianorum. Series Latina 29. Turnholt: Brepols. Aurelius Augustinus, Sanctus. Opera Omnia. 1861. Edited by J.-P Migne. Patrologiae Cursus Completus. Series Latina Prior 42. Paris: J.-P. Migne. Boulding, Maria, tr. 1997. The Confessions: Introduction, Translation and Notes. Edited by st John E. Rotelle. 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Selecta: Studies Presented to Professor Julien Ries on the Occasion of His Seventieth Birthday. Edited by Alois van Tongerloo and Soren Giversen. Manichaean Studies 1. Louvain: Drukkerij Foerts. Zepf, Max. 1926. Augustins Confessiones. Heidelberger Abhandlungen Geschichte 9. TObingen: Mohr. 261 zur Philosophie und ihrer

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